Second Chance
by Checksname
Summary: After the start of the apocalypse, the world is in chaos and Sam (OC) has only one choice: survival. He meets a group at a motor inn, but will they accept him and allow him to join the group, or will they send him on his way to survive the zombie apocalypse alone again? - Rated T for language and (mild) gore/violence.
1. And So It Begins

"The Center for Disease Control says the recent outbreak should be contained within the next few days," the news reporter said. "Until then, they advise you to stay in your homes, remain calm, and not to approach anyone on the street. Reporting for WABE in Atlanta, I'm Carley -" Sam turned the television off.

"Can you believe this?" he asked. "A disease outbreak, and they want us to 'remain calm'." Sam shook his head.

"Next thing you know, there'll be zombies roaming the streets," Wanda said with a laugh. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I know," Sam said. "But I think my nervousness is justified, though. You've seen the movies about these types of situations. They don't end too well."

"Relax, dude. Nothing is going to happen to you," she said, smiling. "Do you want anything to eat? I was thinking about going up to the drive through of that new place. What was it called? I don't know. That new sandwich place a few blocks down. But do you want anything?"

"They said we should stay in our homes," Sam reminded her.

"They were reporting from Atlanta. We're not in Atlanta," Wanda said. "We're in Athens. Many, many miles from Atlanta."

"Still, I don't think -"

"Sam." She looked at him. He abandoned his attempt to get her to stay at their apartment. "Now, do you want anything to eat?"

"No," he said, sighing. "Drive safely, sis."

"Yup." Wanda stood up from the couch. "See you in a few minutes, Sam."

"Bye," he said, waving at her as she left the apartment. Sam rose from the couch after his sister was gone and went to look out the window. He and Wanda both attended the university in Athens, but they had to rent a second-story apartment together since all of the on-campus residencies were taken.

He sat back down on the couch and took his cell phone out of his pocket, then placed it next to him on the couch. He reached for the remote control and turned the television back on. It was still on the news channel, but there was a different reporter.

" - your homes. The C.D.C. has been exerting their best efforts to get the disease under control, but there have been recent reports of people with aggressive, un-human actions and violent -" The station cut out. _She needs to get back here._ He picked his phone up and called his sister's number. No answer. He called again, and it went to the automated voicemail. Again. He tried calling a third time, but she didn't answer then either. He picked the remote control up and started flipping through the channels. Three more of the news stations had been cut and showed the multicolored bars on the screen. He tried calling Wanda for the fourth time, but she didn't pick up her phone. Sam was getting to be really panicked, and so he tried to text his sister instead.

The first message he sent read "Where are you?", followed by "Why are you not answering your phone?", and then "Are you okay?". After a minute of Sam chewing his lip and nervously tapping the ground with his foot, Wanda sent a single message to him.

The message was only two words: "love you". Sam's blood turned to ice and tremendous feelings of consternation and worry filled every part of his body. He didn't try sending any more messages to her. Sam only re-read what Wanda had sent over and over. He turned his attention to the television since the colorful bars changed back into the news station.

". . . four car pile-up in downtown Athens resulted in a mild explosion. It truly is chaos down here. At least three people are confirmed dead, please -" the reporter stopped talking. "What the hell?" The reporter had turned around and was looking at someone on the street. "Focus on them," they said to the camera person, pointing towards a man on the street. "Zoom in." The person the camera had focused on had now turned around to face them, and he started walking in their direction. "Stay back, sir," the reporter called out. The person didn't say anything as it picked up its speed and continued going towards the reporter and their crew. "What the hell is that? Oh shit, cut it! Cut the camera, we need to -" The screen shifted back to the multicolored bars.

_What the fuck is going on?_ Sam picked his phone back up. _Wanda, please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay._ He stood back up and scurried over to the window again. There was someone running and screaming down the street, but what were they running from? Sam moved into the kitchen to get a better view through that window. There were two more people - were they even people? - stumbling down the street after the running individual.

"What the hell is this?" Sam said to himself, his voice nearly a whisper. He pulled his phone up in front of him and dialed 9-1-1. The line was busy. _How can the police be busy?_ The only noise that filled the apartment was the muffled _beep, beep, beep_ of the busy tone. Then someone came running down the street again. They were screaming, too.

_I need to go find Wanda._ Sam was equally scared, anxious, and confused about whatever it was that was going on outside on the streets. Actually, he was probably more scared than anything else. But he had to go find his sister. So Sam ran into his bedroom, took out the bag he used for his books and whatnot at the university, dumped the contents onto his bed, and took a photo of him and his sister off of his wall. He looked at it for a second, and then placed it in the backpack. He tucked the bag underneath his arm and then ran into the kitchen. _I don't need a knife, right? These are all just people._ He contemplated for a second._ No. I'm going to bring one. Just in case._ He slid one of the drawers under the counter open and took one of the sharper knives. He tossed it into his backpack as well.

Sam zipped the bag up and put it on. He walked over to the front door and placed a trembling hand on the doorknob. He turned around and looked at his home, then twisted the handle and stepped outside.


	2. To Macon

Sam locked the door behind him and started walking down the gravelly staircase outside the apartment. He took every step with caution; he had no clue what was going on or what was out there. _She said she was going to that sandwich place. But I have no idea where that is. Fantastic._ Sam took his phone out, but he remembered that he had no connection to the internet outside of the apartment. So he put it back in his pocket.

He saw someone on the street, and for a split second he thought about going over to ask them for directions, but then he remembered what the first reporter had said: do not approach anyone on the street. So, instead Sam walked as quietly as possible past the person and into the direction he had seen the people running away from. He would have taken the car, but between him and his sister, they only had the one. And Wanda had taken it. On the other side of the street, Sam saw another person running. They weren't screaming like the others he had seen, but they were running. Away from the direction Sam had decided to walk in. As he saw when he looked out the window in the apartment, if someone was running, they were usually accompanied by whatever those things were some feet back. So Sam veered off of the sidewalk and behind some shrubs that reached halfway up his chest.

Sure enough, one of those - could he even call them humans? - people followed behind the man who had run by. He crouched behind the shrub and continued on his way. _I just need to find Wanda, and then everything will be okay,_ Sam thought. _I'll find her and everything will be fine. We'll just go back to the apartment and it will all be okay._

He didn't know anything about what was going on since the news stations had kept cutting out. But he did know one thing: whatever was happening was definitely not good. And the one reporter had said something about an explosion. _A four car pile-up,_ Sam recalled, _in downtown Athens. Oh god, please don't let anything bad happen to Wanda._

Sam kept thinking about the message his sister had sent him. It only had two words, but those two words were beyond enough to send Sam into a great panic. As he continued down the street, with his cover behind the shrubs, he had started to smell gasoline. The farther he walked, the stronger the smell got. In the distance, Sam could see a developing, dark smoke cloud that loomed over a fair amount of space. He walked further until the smoke started stinging his eyes to the point where they watered. _Christ, is this where the car wreck was?_

He peered over the hedge. What he saw confirmed that this was, in fact, where the four cars had caused an explosion. Two cars had burned up completely to the point where it was just the frames of the cars, one of the cars had flipped over and the bottom of it - the part that now faced upward - was still flaming. The last car wasn't burned too badly; whoever drove the car must have swerved out of the way at the last minute to have sustained the least damage from the wreck. But they still were part of the explosion.

Sam's heart dropped into his stomach. He could still see some of the coloring from the car that had been least damaged. It was a four-door, silver sedan. The car that belonged to him and Wanda was a four-door, silver sedan. He tried to take a deep breath, but his breath caught in his throat. He looked around the scene of the car wreck. There was nobody there who could help the people who had been in the explosion. No police, no firefighters, no ambulance, no _anything_. But there were people outside of the cars. There were damn near twenty of them. And they were throwing themselves at these cars, these _burning _cars. Just . . . banging and clawing at them.

_How are those people doing that?_ Sam was dumbfounded. Those cars were either on fire or had burned until the fire subsided. _More importantly,_ he thought, _how am I supposed to see if Wanda is over there with those people over there?_ The thought of Wanda being over there left him despondent.

Tears had welled in his eyes from the smoke that hovered in its little cloud above the scene of the wreck. Though his vision was blurred, he could see that enough of those . . . _things _. . . surrounded the sedan. He couldn't go over there, not with them there. If they could feel no harm or not even flinch when they touched the burning vehicles, Sam assumed they were some of the "un-human" things that the one news reporter had mentioned. So he didn't close the gap between him and them. He looked at the car for another minute, and then turned back around to go to the apartment. His sister was dead, there was no way he could save her from the car, much less with those creatures there.

When he started walking, an actual person ran screaming past the hedge he took cover behind. She didn't seem to notice Sam as she ran, but she sure as hell noticed the twenty-something creatures that lurked around the cars. The woman stopped running, but screamed even louder. Her face showed such utter fear and horror at the sight of those things, which had almost all turned around and started walking towards the woman who was screaming at them. Her legs must have froze in place, because she didn't move from where she had stopped running. The creatures were nearly upon her, but she still didn't move. She only screamed impossibly louder. Sam pressed his hands to his ears to block out the woman's ear-splitting screams.

The malign creatures had reached her. The first ones to get to her had bitten her, and they were . . . _No, that's_ crazy, Sam thought._ Why would they be _eating _her?_ Whatever they did had shut the woman up; she was dead. Then the rest of the creatures got there and they all tried to eat some part of her corpse, too. Sam felt like he was going to throw up, so he didn't watch any further. He ducked so that he couldn't be seen from the other side of the hedge and he hightailed it out of there. But hey, at least seeing a woman get eaten right in front of him had taken his mind off of Wanda for a few minutes.

Sam got back to the apartment. He walked up the staircase to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it. After he stepped back inside, he closed the door and pressed his back against it. He pressed his eyelids down and kept them shut. Wanda was gone. He had seen another woman eaten alive a few feet from him. It would be very much of an understatement to say that today was a confusing and stressful day. After a minute, Sam took his backpack off and opened it. He took out the picture of him and his sister, looked at it, smiled sadly, and put it back in the bag.

Sam's parents lived in Macon. He had nowhere else to go now. If all of the craziness that had unfolded today only happened today, he would still be going to Macon. He only went to the University of Georgia because Wanda wanted them both to, but, as sad as it was, there was nothing keeping him in Athens anymore. So he would go to Macon, and he would be with his parents.

He walked into the kitchen and started putting food and water into his backpack. He would have to walk to Macon because the only method of transportation he had, had been in a wreck with three other cars that had become engulfed in a fiery mess. And Sam had no idea how to hotwire a car. The last time he and Wanda drove to Macon, it had taken nearly two hours to get there. Sam would have to be walking for a long, long time. He tried checking how long it would take to get there on foot, but the internet wasn't working. Sam guessed it would take him around thirty hours or so, and that's if he didn't stop at all.

Sam remembered that he and Wanda had driven on a single road to get to Macon, and he also recalled which road it was: US 129. He would just have to stay on that road and not try to get eaten like that poor woman had been. Then Sam would find his parents and everything would be okay. The news stations - while they still worked, that is - never mentioned anything about Macon, did they? If they did, Sam didn't remember hearing it. Regardless, he was going.


	3. Motor Inn

Once Sam had taken whatever supplies he thought necessary for the long journey he was about to embark on, he slipped on a jacket and left the apartment again. He had packed the photo of him and his sister, the knife from his kitchen, a flashlight, as much food as he could stuff into the backpack, and some of the bottles from the designated medine cabinet. Sam didn't bring a map; the main reason being he didn't even _have _a map, and another being that he only needed to use the one road. He knew his parents' address, though, so once he got to Macon he'd just have to poke around until he found their house.

Sam knew as soon as he set foot on the pavement that the walk was going to be tiring and dangerous. Those things had eaten that woman, what would stop them from eating _him _if they saw him? The knife he brought? The knife couldn't do anything by itself, and he was unsure if he would be able to bring himself to off one of them. They looked like humans, but they sure as shit didn't act like them. _They're still people, right?_ Sam thought. _People that would try to eat me._ He shook the thought and moved the knife to the top of the pile in his backpack. This whole situation was surreal. _Could the zombie apocalypse truly be starting?_

Sam had decided it would be safest to travel beside the road in place of actually on the road because if video games and comics had taught him anything about the apocalpyse, it was that strangers usually weren't friendly once the chaos began. He walked just along the treeline on the side of the road, so that he could easily hide himself from anyone - either those creatures or other people - should they show up. There were a lot of cars that passed him during the trip, but the people driving either didn't see him or didn't care that he was there.

Sam must have been walking for nearly ten hours already, because the sky was almost black as pitch. He was exhausted and hungry, but he thought it would be best save the food until he was starving because the backpack could only hold a surprisingly small amount of things. The exhaustion could be fixed, though. He would just need to find a safe place to get a few hours of sleep. _Would it be okay to sleep by the trees?_ Sam shrugged and walked a few feet beyond the treeline. He sat down on the grass and yawned, then took his backpack off. He placed the bag under his head as a sort of makeshift pillow and then sleep took him.

* * *

When Sam woke up, the sun was rising. He yawned and then stood up, taking his backpack with him as he rose. He slipped the bag on his back and resumed walking. So far, in all of the hours Sam had been walking, he had seen none of those cannibalistic creatures. Though to say he was anxious and on edge would be putting it lightly. Sam ate some of the food as he walked. He kept going until it got dark again, and then he repeated what he did the previous night. Sam had less than a day's walking to do now, and then he would be in Macon. The battery on his phone had died a few hours prior to him going to sleep, so he tucked it in his backpack below the rest of its contents.

The next day, after four more hours of walking, he saw a sign on the side of the road that let Sam know he was finally in Macon. Oddly, only when he stopped walking did he feel the burning sensation in his legs that over twenty-five accumulative hours of walking would give someone. As he walked further into Macon, the number of those creatures he saw climbed drastically. Sam passed a drug store and he would have been eaten for sure had the horde not been preoccupied with feasting on at least two other people that they had killed.

_This is the apocalypse._ Sam still couldn't wrap his brain around everything that was happening. _These things are zombies._ He travelled through the streets as quietly as he could. In give or take fifteen minutes, he would be at his parents' house.

_"Please, somebody help me!"_ somebody shrieked. Sam whipped around and saw a little boy, no older than ten or eleven, running out into the street. The boy was screaming bloody murder, no doubt attracting the attention of the zombie horde that Sam had successfully sneaked past. Sam froze in place. If he went to go help the boy, they were both as good as dead. But he couldn't just leave him to die without a chance. _What do I do?_ He and the kid were about a hundred feet from each other, but the boy hadn't seen Sam yet.

The zombies from the horde were slowly turning away from their food and starting to go to the boy. He screamed again. _Why does everybody think screaming is the best thing to do when they see these fuckers?_ Sam thought. _Screaming makes them notice you._ He wanted to go help the boy, but he had no idea how. What was he supposed to do, kill all of the zombies? He would never be able to do that. He'd get maybe one of them, and then he and the boy would both die.

Sam tried to make his mind up as quick as he could. After a few seconds, he decided to try to help the boy. But the zombies reached him first. He had taken one step towards the kid and then he saw the creatures pull him off of his feet. Sam couldn't do anything for him now; he was being torn apart by those zombies. He didn't have a gun, he couldn't put the kid out of his misery. Now Sam had actually seen two people get killed by those things, and that was two too many. The only thing Sam could do was leave and find his parents.

He walked for about ten more minutes until he found the street that his parents' house was on. Any hope that Sam had left was ripped from him and stomped on right in front of him. Three of the houses were fully engulfed in flames. The one to the right of his parents' house, the one to the left of his parents' house, and his parents' house. _Maybe they got out of there,_ Sam thought. But they didn't; their cars were parked across the street beside the curb. His parents were dead along with his sister. Everybody he cared about was dead. Sam stood there in silence as the tears came. The glow of the fire illuminated his glistening cheeks.

* * *

He didn't know where he was going, but he picked a direction and started walking. He couldn't bear to watch the rest of his parents' house burn to the ground. After five minutes, he came across a motor inn. _If there are any zombies here, I don't think I'd care much if they killed me._ Sam wasn't about to go waltzing into a horde of them, but if he failed to escape one or two of them, he wouldn't put up much of a fight. _If one of them gets me, so be it. _Sam walked to the entrance of the inn. If any actual people were staying here, they didn't do anything to barricade the entrance.

"Back off," a woman shouted. Startled, Sam flinched and looked up from the ground. The street lights allowed him to see a woman pointing a gun at him, and standing behind her were three men and two more women. She was the only one with a gun, though. The rest of them were unarmed, aside from one of the men who had an axe.


	4. The Woods

**A/N:** I know I haven't updated in over a month. Sorry about that haha. Also! To the guest who left a review: Thank you! I plan on writing this one until the person who uses an account under the name of Galen Devereaux comes along and says shit over multiple reviews that makes me feel bad enough about writing it to delete it like he did the other one I was working on. And regarding your request to know what Sam looks like, I prefer to leave OCs' appearances somewhat ambiguous in a sense so that the reader can imagine them however they please. Again, thank you for reading and leaving a review! I hope you have a nice day :)

* * *

"Oh, um, sorry," Sam said. _They're going to kill me._

"Who are you?" the man with the axe asked.

"I'm nobody," said Sam.

"Obviously you're somebody," said one of the other women, "so tell us who you are."

"I'm Sam."

"Well, Sam, what are you doing here?" the woman asked.

"I'm . . . nothing. I'm just lost, I think," Sam said.

"You think?" asked one of the men. Sam guessed he was the oldest one there; his hairline had receded and whatever hair he still had left was gray. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Ease up on him, Larry," said the man with the axe before the other guy could speak. The older man scoffed but didn't say anything else. "Sam, you said? It would probably be best if you just carried on the way you were going."

Sam looked around the motor inn. His eyes settled on a pile of bodies. He felt his stomach drop. "You're . . ." Sam cleared his throat. "You're right." His stomach rumbled. "I'll, uh . . . You guys wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?"

The older man - Sam noticed his name was Larry - let out a sound that somewhat resembled laughter. "Did you hear him?" Larry asked. "He thinks we have food to just toss out to every sorry pisswad who comes by us."

"Dad, please," said one of the women.

"I'm . . . I have medicine I can give you guys," said Sam, "if you have any food you can trade."

Larry's daughter perked up. "You do?" she asked. "What kind?"

"Let me check," Sam said. He reached behind him and his hands fumbled around in his backpack. He found one of the pill bottles and took it out. His eyes strained as he tried to read the label, his only source of light being the streetlight. Sam reached into the backpack again and took the flashlight out. "Just antibiotics, I think," he said upon shining the flashlight onto the bottle.

"Do we have any food, Lilly?" one of the other men asked. He had a remarkable mustache, Sam noticed.

The woman, Lilly, sighed. "We barely have enough for ourselves."

_I'm probably going to regret this._ "You guys can just have it," Sam said. "I'll find food somewhere else."

"Really?" the mustached man asked.

"Yeah," said Sam, "I doubt I'll be needing it for much longer."_ I'm going to die out here anyway._

"How much do you have?" Lilly asked.

"Let me see." Sam reached back into the pack on his shoulders and pulled four bottles of antibiotics out. In addition to the one already in his hand, there were five bottles he was about to give to these people he'd known for all of four minutes.

"We can't take these," said the woman who held the gun. "It's too much."

_Why does she seem so familiar?_ Sam thought.

"We need them," said Lilly.

"And he doesn't?" the other woman asked, looking at Sam.

"He's giving them to us," Larry said, "so don't make a big deal about it."

The man with the axe looked at Sam. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive." Sam walked over to Lilly and handed her the antibiotics. "Okay. Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Thank you," the man with the axe said. Lilly also thanked him, and Sam began walking away from the Travelier.

"Who's that?" a higher pitched voice inquired.

"Clementine, what did I say?" The voice belonged to the man with the axe.

"Sorry, Lee . . ." said the girl. Sam turned around. _They have kids with them?_ "But who is that?"

"A very nice man," the guy, Lee, said.

"Can he stay with us?" Clementine asked, excitement filling her voice.

"He's leaving," Larry said. "Don't make him stay here any longer."

Sam didn't understand why that old man had such a problem with him. He had given them all the medicine he had and had begun to willingly leave but still he was being a dick.

"I don't think he wants to stay here, Clementine," said Lee.

"Oh," the girl said, the excitement having left her voice.

"Thank you again," Lilly said as Sam turned back around.

"Yeah," Sam said. He looked up at the glowing Travelier sign just in time to see the light go out, followed by the rest of the streetlights. He turned the flashlight back on and crossed the street, entering the woods. _It's very dark out here,_ he thought, _and this battery's not going to last forever._ And what he predicted was right; after ten minutes or so, the light began flickering until it eventually died out altogether.

"Fantastic," he whispered. Sam smacked the flashlight a few times. The light came back for a second, but died back out as soon as it had come. He sighed. _There goes that._

Sam placed his palm from tree to tree, carefully walking through the woods. He had taken the knife out of his backpack and held it in his other hand. Sam stopped walking to itch his leg. _Why did that woman from that inn seem so familiar?_ Sam thought about that for a minute. _Oh, right. She was that reporter I saw on the television from before everything in my life went to shit. That's right._ Before he resumed his pace, he heard the distant rustling of leaves. He stopped moving and looked up, though doing that was useless as it was pitch black out and he couldn't see anything. He tightened his grip on the knife he held.

Sam thought about calling out to what rustled the leaves, but he remembered the reason he was outside in the middle of the woods at night holding a knife and thought it would be smarter to stay silent. Then again, it could have just been the wind that rustled the leaves and Sam could've been getting worried over nothing. The world has a tendency to illude people when they're nervous or anxious.

Sam heard something fall to the ground of the woods. "Goddammit," he heard someone mumble. _Okay_, he thought, _so it's not a zombie. That's good. But is it better for a person to be there? Should I be more scared of the living or the dead?_

_Fuck it._ "Hello?" Upon speaking, Sam heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Who's there?" the man called out.

"I'm-"

The man clicked a flashlight on and shined it directly onto Sam's face.

Sam moved an arm up to shield his eyes from the intense beam of light being blasted into them. "Fuck, could you move that out of my eyes, please?"

"Sorry." The light traveled to Sam's shirt.

"I'm Sam," he said, blinking a few times.

"I'm David," the man said. "David Parker."


	5. A New Group

"Are you going to kill me?" Sam asked.

"Not unless you try to kill me," said David.

"Alright then," Sam said. "Nice to meet you."

"You wouldn't have happened to stumble upon a kid out here, would you?" David asked.

Sam was about to say, "No," but he remembered the one boy he'd seen get torn apart earlier and instead said, "How old were they?"

"Seventeen," David said.

"No. I'm sorry, I haven't."

David let out a sigh. "I've been looking for him out here since it was light out," he said. "I don't think I'm going to find him."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sam said.

"I should probably get back." David shined the flashlight around the woods. "You're welcome to come along. Me and a bunch of others are set up a ways back at the highschool gym."

"You said you weren't going to kill me?"

"Correct."

"Let's go, then," Sam said.

David and Sam began walking. After a minute, David said, "The trip back to the school is a lengthy one."

"How long do you think it will take?" asked Sam.

"A few hours, at the least."

"I've already been walking for more," he said. "A few extra hours are nothing."

"That's the kind of talk I like to hear," David said. "Most of the kids back at the school are cowering in corners, afraid of everything." He paused for a minute. "But you . . . If you end up staying with us, you'll probably help them realize that they don't need to be cowering in those corners."

"Kids?" Sam asked. "Are they all highschoolers?"

"Most are," he said. "There are a few other adults, you know, faculty and whatnot." David waved the flashlight in front of them. "I happen to be a band director. I didn't even teach at the highschool we're going to. I taught up at Stone Mountain. We came down to play at the football playoffs and then people started eating each other." He sighed. "Now we're stuck here, I guess."

"Did you have any family back at Stone Mountain?" asked Sam.

"My wife," David said.

"I hope she's okay, then."

"So do I," sighed David. "What about you? Is your family in Macon?"

"My parents were," Sam said. "I was with my sister up at the University of Georgia." He didn't want David to pity him, so he said, "I don't know where they are now."

"They'll be okay."

_No, they won't be_, Sam thought. _They're all fucking dead._

Sam followed David for what felt like days. In reality, it was only a few hours like David had said but Sam was about ready to collapse.

"Here we are," David said. Sam hadn't noticed (as he had been mindlessly following David) but the school had come into view and the two of them had long since exited the woods. Sam looked up at the school. He did notice that the sun was beginning to come up; pale, dim light covered the ground.

"They might think you're dead," Sam said.

"Then they'll be relieved to see me walk in there," said David. "We've only secured the gymnasium. The rest of the building . . . Nobody knows what's there. So it would be best for you to not leave the gym."

"I wouldn't have planned to."

"Good."

David, in place of walking to the front entrance of the school, crept around to the back. Sam hadn't seen it but there was a handgun tucked into the back of David's pants. _So he could have killed me. But he didn't. That's good._ Sam followed him around the back.

David turned the flashlight off once they made it to the back of the school and banged his fist against the door in some special pattern. Almost immediately, the door swung open and revealed an anxious looking teenager standing behind it.

"Mr. Parker!" the teen said. "You're back."

"Yes, Travis, I'm back," said David.

"Is- is Barry with you?" asked the boy, Travis. He had yet to notice Sam standing beside David.

"I couldn't find him," David said.

Travis finally took note of Sam. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sam," he replied.

"I'm Travis." He stuck his hand out. Once Sam shook it, Travis said, "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Come on," David said. "Some of the roaming ones are here."

Sam checked behind them and sure enough, there were some of the zombies forming a small herd a hundred feet or so away. David ushered Sam and Travis inside and pulled the door shut.

"So," Sam said, "does this mean it's really the apocalypse?"

"Well, you know what they say." David turned the flashlight off, as the gymnasium had its lights on. "When hell is full," he said, "the dead will walk the earth."

"Hell must be packed," Travis sighed. He stalked away and started talking with another highschooler.

"Make yourself comfortable if you can," David said. "I have to go tell the students that Barry is still gone."

Sam walked to one of the walls and leaned against it. He took his backpack off and let it fall down by his feet. Sam let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting. He closed his eyes and tried to find sleep but before he could, Travis appeared in front of him with the student he had went to go talk to before.

"Sam," Travis said, "this is Ben. Ben, this is Sam."

Sam stood up. "Hello, Ben."

"Hi, Sam."

"So you guys are the ones from Stone Mountain? Or are you the ones from this school?" asked Sam.

"We're from Stone Mountain," Travis said.

"Your teacher told me that you guys came down to play at the football game?"

"Yeah," said Ben. "I wish we could go back, though. My parents and my sister are still there and I don't know if they're okay or not."

_His parents and his sister_, Sam thought bitterly._ If your luck is as fantastic as mine, they're dead._ "I'm sure they'll be okay," he said. "Before we know it, the military'll come through here and this whole thing will be over."

"You'd better be right," Travis said. "So, where are you from?"

"I was from Athens," said Sam.

"Well, hope you like the food here," Travis said. "We'll probably be here a while."


	6. Raided

**\- ONE MONTH LATER -**

"How much medicine do you think we have left?" Sam asked.

"Enough," Travis said. "It's the food we have to worry about." He gestured towards the pile of cans. "There's only fifteen cans left."

"We're really that low?" Ben asked. Travis nodded.

"Does the cafeteria not have any more?" Sam asked.

"We haven't checked," Ben said.

"We should," said Sam.

"We _can't_," Travis said. "We don't know if it's safe."

"Safe or not, we need to check," Sam said. "We don't have enough food for all of us."

"Where are you going, Jenny?" Ben asked, looking past Sam and Travis and at a girl who was walking past them. She had been looking at the floor as she hurried past them, but Ben's voice must have startled her as her head had shot up upon hearing it.

"What?" asked Jenny.

"Where are you going?" Ben repeated.

"I- To the bathroom," she said.

"What are you holding?" asked Travis. One of Jenny's fists was curled into a ball.

Jenny looked around them nervously. "Nothing." Her voice was shaking.

"Be careful, then," Travis said. Jenny left them and entered the bathroom.

"Does she seem okay to you guys?" Ben asked.

"She's been seeming a little . . . I don't know . . . _off_ these past couple of days," said Travis.

"I don't blame her," Sam said. "The dead are walking around, eating people . . ." He shook his head. "But as long as they don't come in here, we'll be safe." He looked towards the bathrooms. "I think."

* * *

**\- THE NEXT MORNING -**

"So I talked to Mr. Parker," Travis said. "He told me that he would go to the cafeteria later today."

"There'd better be food there," said Ben.

"Even if there is," Sam said, "eventually we're going to have to start going outside to get more. The cafeteria isn't going to have an infinite supply of food."

"We can cross that bridge when we get to it," said Travis, "but for now we'll just have to-"

Travis was cut off by the sound of someone screaming. Almost in sync, the three of them turned around to look at the bathrooms, where the scream had come from. Sam looked around. Everybody else had turned around as well. David began walking to the bathrooms with his gun out. One of the highschool girls burst out of the bathroom and scurried away, fear written on her face.

"What's wrong?" David asked the girl.

She pointed at the bathroom and muttered something that Sam couldn't hear from where he stood. David raised his gun. The girl had left the bathroom door open in her attempt to run away from whatever was there. A few moments passed before a reanimated corpse slowly stalked out of the bathroom.

"Is that . . . Is that Jenny?" Travis asked.

"What the fuck?" one of the students near them asked. "Did one of them bite her?"

"How would she have been bitten?" another student asked. "None of us have gone outside."

"Oh, what happened to Barry, then?" asked a different student.

"Would you all just shut up?" Travis asked.

"Are you still alive?" David asked with his pistol aimed at Jenny. He gave her a few seconds to respond, and when she didn't he pulled the trigger. Half the crowd jumped back and gasped while the other half erupted into a mess of cries and sobs.

"Was she bitten?" one of the students asked.

"I don't see any bites," David said. One of the adults - the school nurse - left the crowd and crouched beside the body that once belonged to Jenny Pitcher.

After a few minutes, the nurse was done checking for bites. "She's . . . She's clean," she said. "There are no bites."

_But that's how you turn,_ Sam thought. _Unless . . ._

"How did she die?" David asked. "There are none of those walkers in here."

Without speaking, the nurse got up and carefully stepped around Jenny's corpse. She disappeared into the bathroom. Nobody said anything and the only sound that could be heard was the snivelled breathing from some of the students in the crowd. The nurse came back out, holding an empty pill bottle which she gave to David.

"She killed herself?" Ben asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.

"Then how did she turn?" Travis asked.

"Maybe . . . Maybe you turn when you die," said Ben.

"Even if you don't get bit?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Ben said. "That's how it looks."

"Maybe you're right," Travis said.

* * *

**\- TWO MONTHS LATER -**

"Are we running out of the food Mr. Parker found in the cafeteria already?" Ben asked.

"It's only been two months," Sam said. "We can't be."

"Well," said Travis, "we are. We're going to have to start going outside like you said, Sam."

"Going outside would be a good change of scenery, though," Sam said. "Even if it's just for a few minutes at a time, it would be nice to get some fresh air. We've been holed up in this gym for . . . What? Three months now? I think I'm going crazy."

"Yeah," Ben said. "But we're probably not going to be allowed to go. We're just the students."

"Speak for yourselves," Sam said, smiling. "I was a college student. I'm older than you guys."

David walked over to them. "How much food do we have left?"

Travis stepped to the side and let his teacher see.

He sighed. "Do any of you know how to use a gun?" asked David.

"Kind of," Ben said. "You just . . . put the gun in your hands and shoot."

David sighed again. "I'm going to have to teach at least one of you before we run completely out of food."

"When do you think . . ." Sam squinted at one of the windows that were up by the bleachers. "What the fuck?" There was a moving silhouette of a person outside the window.

"What?" Travis asked.

Sam pointed at the window. "There's a . . . Is that a person?"

David, Travis, and Ben looked at the window Sam pointed at. Before they said anything, the glass of the window shattered and the silhouette turned into a person who wore a bandana around their head, holding a crossbow.

"Hide!" David yelled. "Everybody, _hide!_"

The other window shattered and another person crawled through, followed by another and then another and then another and then another . . . They were firing their crossbows and their bows and arrows left and right.

"Where the hell do we go?!" one of the students shouted.

"Anywhere!" another student yelled.

"Give us the food!" one of the bandits shouted.

One of the students screamed and Sam looked over at him. He had an arrow lodged in his chest. He looked down at the arrow and then fell to the ground. He was dead. Sam frantically glanced around the gym (and noticed that Travis, Ben, and David had gone somewhere out of his sight) for something to hide behind and decided to go under the bleachers. He ran as fast as his legs would take him until he finally got there, and then saw that Ben was already there.

"Who are these people?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea," Ben said.

"Where's Travis?" asked Sam.

"I have no idea," Ben repeated.

"How the hell do we get out of here?" Sam asked.

Ben looked through the bleachers. "There," he said, pointing to the door.

"And how do we get there without getting shot by an arrow?"

"We run, I guess," said Ben.

"Alright, then," Sam said. "Let's go."

"Sam."

"What?"

"Behind you."

Sam looked behind him and saw one of those bandits striding towards them underneath the bleachers from the way Sam had entered. He turned back around to look at Ben. "Go."

Ben went as fast as he could to the other side of the bleachers and Sam followed him. He glanced over his shoulder._ He's getting closer._

"Stop fuckin' running!" the bandit shouted at them.

_And why would we do that?_ Sam thought.

"I said," the bandit spat, "Stop. Runnin'." He fired an arrow at Sam. It dug into his backpack but it merely poked at his back as he ran.

"Oh, shit," Sam whispered to himself as he felt the point of the arrow scratch at his back. He and Ben finally reached the other side of the bleachers but the sleeve of Ben's jacket got caught on one of the metal rods that stuck out and he sat there for a moment trying to get loose. By the time Ben tugged his sleeve off of the rod and he and Sam were both outside of the bleachers, the bandit chasing them had caught up to them. He tackled Sam and both of them went tumbling to the ground.

As Sam struggled to get the guy off of him, the bandit's fingers started to close around his throat. Sam felt around the floor for something to hit the guy with. His hand found a glass shard - one of the results of the bandits smashing the windows - and he picked it up. Sam dug the blade of glass as hard as he could into the bandit's side, which made the guy take his hands from Sam's throat. Sam gasped for air and then scrambled to his knees, taking his backpack off. The arrow had snapped in half when the bandit tackled him but the arrow head was still intact. Sam pushed the half of the arrow through his backpack, took it in his hand, and stood up. The bandit's hands were red and wet with blood from his side where the glass shard was lodged.

The bandit struggled to his feet and then he looked at Sam. "You fuckin' piece of shit," he said. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you and fuck your corpse."

_Jesus Christ_, Sam thought, disgusted. The bandit staggered forward and Sam tightened his grip on the arrow. _Where the hell did Ben go?_ The bandit reached to his side and pulled the glass shard out. He began closing the short distance between him and Sam. The bandit extended the shard out in front of him as he stumbled towards Sam, and Sam stepped back.

Before Sam realized what was happening, the bandit lunged at him and Sam had driven the arrow into the side of his neck. The bandit dropped the glass and then collapsed to the ground. _Oh my god,_ Sam thought. _Oh my god, I just killed someone._ He started backing away slowly as the bandit's blood began pooling around his head.

"Sam," someone said, "we need to go. Now."

Sam turned around._ David._ "I killed that guy," Sam said. "I just . . . killed him."

"We'll talk about that later, but right now we have to go," David said.

Sam glanced around the gym. "Is Ben with you?" he asked. "Travis?"

"Both of them are outside," David said. "Come on."

Sam followed David through the gym with arrows still flying around the gymnasium. The bandits had killed so many people, there were so many bodies on the ground . . . "What do they want with us?" Sam asked.

"Our food, I'd imagine," said David.

"They're going to be disappointed, then," said Sam. "We were running out anyway."

"Through here," David said. He gestured towards the door.

Sam pushed the door open and stepped out, holding it open for David. Once he was out, Sam slammed the door shut and pressed his back against it.

"We can't stop here," David said, "we have to go find the others."

"Forgive me for being a little on edge after just, you know, killing a man," Sam said.

"You can calm down in a minute. Come on."

Sam took a deep breath and then followed David again. They walked for a moment and then David stopped again.

"Mr. Parker?" a voice asked. It was Travis's.

"Oh, thank God you guys are alive," Ben said. "I thought they might've got you."

"They nearly got him," David said, nodding towards Sam.

_Oh, shit,_ Sam thought, _my backpack is still in that gym._

"We should get a move on," Travis said.

"Yeah, let's go," said Ben.

* * *

The four of them ended up walking into the woods because David suggested they keep off the roads. They kept going for a solid hour or two before Sam asked them to take a break. David walked off to relieve himself.

"Do you think anyone else made it out?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," Travis said.

"It didn't look like they did," Sam said.

"Mr. Parker said you almost died in there," said Ben.

"That would be correct," Sam confirmed.

"How did you get out of there?" asked Travis.

"I killed someone."

"Really?" Travis asked.

"Yes," Sam said, "now can we please stop talking about-" He was cut off by a scream.

"Was that Mr. Parker?" Ben asked. The three of them ran in the direction where David had gone.

And they found him. But he was sitting on the ground and his leg was caught in a bear trap. David screamed again, his fingers clawing at the metal trap.


	7. Familiar People

"Oh my god," Travis said. He immediately kneeled down and began to try finding the release latch.

"Why is there a bear trap here?" Sam asked no one in particular.

"I can't find the release latch," Travis said.

David made a pained noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a squeal. Travis ripped off the cuff of one of his sleeves and began tying it around David's shin.

"Jesus Christ . . ." an unfamiliar voice said.

Sam, Ben, and Travis looked at who had spoken. Travis shot up from his kneeled position and put his hands up. Ben and Sam put their hands up as well. There were two men - one with a rifle and one with an axe. "Oh, shit! No, no, please don't kill us," Travis said. "We just want to help our teacher. We'll leave, I swear!"

A third man came running out of the trees and into the clearing they were in. "Lee, you guys okay?" he asked. He had a rifle in his hands.

"Get it off," David yelled, "get it off, goddammit, get it off me!"

"Travis, maybe they can help," Ben said.

"These might be the same guys that raided our camp," Travis said, "and we barely got away from that!"

_Why does it feel like I've seen them before?_ Sam thought.

"What guys?" one of the men asked. He had glasses and a rifle.

"Why the fuck is there a bear trap out here?" a mustached man with a rifle asked.

"Who raided your camp?" the man with the axe asked.

"I- I don't know!" Ben said.

"Please, we won't bother you, I swear," Travis said.

"Lee, this is fucked up," the man with the glasses said. "We gotta help them."

"Please," said Ben.

Travis furrowed his brows and turned to look at Ben. "Ben, shut up," he said. "My dad was Special Forces, I know what I'm doing!"

"Just see if you can get him out," Sam said.

"After that, you can leave us or whatever," Ben said, "I don't care. Please!"

The man they kept calling Lee turned to look at the men he was with. "We've gotta get him out of there."

"Oh, god, thank you," David said.

"Fine, but you gotta hurry," said the mustached man.

"Hurry," David said, "please hurry . . ."

The man with the glasses kneeled down beside David and started examining the bear trap. "Lee, this trap's been altered," he said. "There's no release latch."

Travis looked around the woods that surrounded them. "Oh, no."

Sam looked where he was looking. "God," he whispered. There were walkers coming.

"Shit!" the mustached man said. "Walkers. It's now or never, Lee."

"Please," David said. "Get me out of this."

"Mark, get the boys back," said Lee as he kneeled down by the bear trap. "Kenny, keep those walkers off of me."

"He's lost so much blood already," Ben said. "Please, hurry up."

Lee walked to the chain that tied the trap to a tree. He raised his axe and then swung at the chain. Ultimately, it did nothing.

"Forget it," Mark said. "We used chain like that at the Air Force base to lift ordinance. You're not cutting through that."

Lee looked around for a minute and then walked beside where David sat.

"Oh, god . . ." whispered David.

"I'm gonna have to cut you out," Lee said.

"No, no, no, try the trap again," David pleaded, "anything, please!"

"I'm just wastin' ammo now," said Kenny. "We gotta go."

Lee raised his axe and swung it at David's leg. David screamed out in pain, and then again as Lee chopped into his leg for the second time. And then a third time. On the fourth swing, the lower half of David's shin was detached from the rest of his body. David looked at what was left of his leg and passed out.

Travis walked up behind Lee and made a gagging noise. He walked away from them to vomit.

"Shit, is he . . .?" Mark asked.

"He passed out," Lee said.

"If he's alive, grab him and let's go," Kenny said.

Mark bent down and put David across his shoulders, then began following Kenny through the woods.

"Behind you!" Lee shouted. Sam looked over at Travis, who had just finished expelling the contents of his stomach onto the ground. There was a walker dangerously close to him.

"Travis!" Ben yelled.

Travis noticed the zombie too late. He tried backing away from it but he tripped on a rock and landed flat on his rear. Travis tried scooting away from the walker but the walker fell down on top of him. The other zombies began to pile up on top of Travis and they all were taking chunks out of him.

* * *

The rest of them raced through the woods. David was losing a lot of blood and if he was even still alive he would be dead soon. Sam still couldn't place his finger on why these people seemed like people he'd met before.

But the second they left the woods, Sam knew why. The first thing he saw was the Travelier Motel, the motor inn he'd stumbled upon the first week of the apocalypse. That was why he felt like he'd seen Lee and Kenny before.

"Get the gates open," Lee yelled, "we've got wounded!"

"Come on, come on," Kenny said.

Lee began pushing the dumpsters that were attached to some gate back. Mark walked in with David on his back.

"What happened?" a woman asked.

"Who the hell are these people?" a man asked. Sam remembered him especially; the grouchy, bitter old man who was an ass to him the entire time he was there.

"What's going on?" a different woman asked.

"I don't have time to explain," Lee said.

"Lee, are you okay?" a child asked.

"Get him into the truck," one of the women said. "I'll see what I can do."

"Kat, can you fix him?" asked Kenny.

"Jesus, Ken, I- I don't know," she said.

"Lee," one of the women hissed. "_Lee._" Everyone quieted down. "What the hell? You can't just be bringing new people here. What are you thinking?"

"Hey, you wanna calm down for a fuckin' minute?" Kenny asked.

"No, I don't," the woman spat. "I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea?"

"I thought we could save his life," Lee said. "I'm the one who took his leg, that makes me responsible."

"Well, that was a stupid thing to do," the old man remarked.

"We are not responsible for every struggling survivor we come across," the woman said. "We have to focus on our group, right here, right now."

"Well, hang on," a different woman said. "We haven't even talked to these people yet. Maybe they can be helpful."

"Come on, Lilly, these are people," Mark said. "People trying to survive, just like us. We've got to stick together to survive."

Lilly turned around to face Mark. "The only reason _you're_ here is because you had food. Enough for all of us. But that food is almost gone. We've got maybe a week's worth left," she said, turning to look at Ben and Sam, "and I don't suppose you guys are carrying any groceries, are you?"

"No," Ben said, nervously shrugging.

"Fine," Mark said. "You guys fight it out, then. Welcome to the family, kid."

One of the children started tugging on Ben's sleeve. "Come over here and see what I drew," she said.

"What?" Ben asked. "No, I . . ."

"Just come on, okay?" she asked. Sam decided that following Ben and the little girl would be a better alternative to standing there awkwardly, listening to the other group get at each other's throats.

The girl, Ben, and Sam walked over to the other side of the RV that was in the middle of the motor inn. They sat down and the girl resumed drawing something. There was another child there, too, drawing something like the girl was doing.

Sam looked over at the truck that David was on. The bumper sticker on the truck said, "shit happens" which almost made Sam laugh because of the day they were having but he decided it would be a completely inappropriate time to do so, given the circumstances.

A couple minutes of uncomfortable silence passed before Lee walked over to where Ben and Sam were.

"Hey, is my friend gonna make it?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," Lee said, "but Katjaa will do her best, I promise."

"I can't believe you chopped off his leg," Ben said.

"There was no other way," said Lee. "So, who are you people? Our group's gonna want to know."

"I'm Ben. Ben Paul. The man you saved is Mr. Parker, the band director at my school," he said. "We all came down from Stone Mountain for the playoffs when . . . when everything happened."

"And I'm Sam. I was a freshman at UGA."

"Ken, Lee," the woman by the truck called, "come here, please."

"I'll talk to you guys later," Lee said. He walked over to the truck where David and Katjaa were.

"Do you think he's gonna make it?" Sam asked Ben.

"I don't know," said Ben. "I just . . . I keep wondering if I could have done something to help, you know? Some kind of . . . I don't know. Something."

"I mean, there wasn't really much we could have done," Sam said. "His leg was caught in a bear trap with no release latch. You did all you could."

Katjaa screamed. Everyone got up to go see why she screamed; David had died and come back as a walker. His hands were on Katjaa's face, pulling her backward towards the truck. Lee pulled them apart but one thing led to another and the reanimated David was on top of Lee on the ground, trying to eat his face.

"Shoot it!" Lee yelled.

The woman in the purple vest did what Lee said and shot the zombie.

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place, asshole?!" Larry spat.

"Dad, calm down," Lilly said.

"You're gonna get us all _killed_!" Larry yelled.

"Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?!" Kenny asked, anger rising in his voice. He began walking over to where Ben and Sam stood.

"What?" Ben asked.

"He was bitten and you didn't say a goddamn word!" Kenny shouted.

"But he wasn't bitten," Sam said.

"Well, your 'not-bitten' friend here came back to life and tried to kill my wife!" Kenny hissed.

"What?" Ben repeated. "Wait, you all don't know?"

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Kenny asked.

"It's not the bite that does it," Ben said. "You come back no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain, that's just what happens." He paused. "It's gonna happen to all of us."

"We're all infected?" Lee asked. "Everyone?"

"I- I guess so," Ben said. "All I know is that I've seen people turn who I _know_ were never bitten."

_Like Jenny,_ Sam thought, remembering what happened two months before.

"When I first saw it happen, we were all hiding out in a gym and everybody thought we were safe," Ben said. "But one of the girls, Jenny Pitcher I think, I guess she couldn't take it. She took some pills. A lot of them . . . Someone went in the girls' room next morning and . . . God."

There was a moment of silence as everybody processed what Ben had just told them but it was soon broken by the woman who shot Zombie David. "Back off," she shouted, her gun pointed at the street. Sam looked in the street. There were two men walking down it.

"Whoa, lady, relax," one of them said. "Me and my brother, we . . . we just want to know if y'all can help us out."


	8. The St John Dairy - I

"I said back off," the woman repeated.

"Carley . . ." said Lilly.

"We don't want any trouble," Lee said.

"Of course," the man said. "Neither do we. I'm Andy St. John. This here's my brother Dan. We're just out lookin' for gasoline." He paused. "Well, looks like you folks got the motel locked down - wh- which is fine - but if you could spare any gasoline, well . . . We'd be much obliged."

"Why do you need gas?" Carley asked.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence," said Dan St. John. "Generators provide the electricity."

"Our generators run on gas," Andy St. John said. "Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kind of trade."

"How're y'all doin' on food?" asked Dan St. John. "W- we got plenty at the dairy."

"Lee, why don't you and Mark check the place out," Lilly suggested. "See if it's legit."

"I'm going with you," Carley said. "I've got your back if anything seems fishy."

"So, uh . . . What are y'all thinkin'?" Andy asked.

_This doesn't sound like a good idea,_ Sam thought. He would have voiced that opinion to the group, but he figured his word wouldn't account for much and Lee spoke before him anyway.

"You've got a deal," Lee said. "We'll bring some gas to your dairy. In exchange, you give us some food to bring back. We'll see how it goes from there."

"Sounds good," said Andy. "A couple of gallons should power one of our generators for a while."

It was decided that Mark, Lee, Carley, and Ben would go check the dairy out while Kenny, Lilly, Sam, Larry, Katjaa, and the children would stay at the motel.

Larry walked off to go lean against the fence, Lilly climbed back on top of the RV, Katjaa and Kenny went to go sit on the couch under the makeshift awning that someone had pitched against the RV with a bedsheet. The kids resumed their coloring.

"Hey, you," Lilly called from atop the RV.

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Sam."

"Why does it feel like we've met before?" asked Lilly.

"Because we have," Sam said. "On the first week of the apocalypse."

"Oh," Lilly said. "Were you that guy who gave us the medicine?"

"That would be me."

"Thank you again for that," said Lilly. "It's gone now, but it helped."

"I would hope so," Sam said.

"How did you get here?" Lilly asked.

"The place Ben and I were staying at was raided by people with bows and arrows and guns," Sam explained. "We were with two other people - a guy named Travis, who was eaten in front of us in the woods, and the guy whose leg was hacked off. There was a bear trap in the woods which David stepped on and then, when we couldn't find the release latch, the guy from your group, Lee, cut his leg off."

"Sounds like you've had quite the day," Lilly said. "But if that dairy doesn't have enough food for all of us, you and your friend are going to have to leave. We're low enough on food and medicine as it is."

"I get it," Sam said. "But speaking of the dairy . . ." Sam shook his head. "Nevermind."

"What?" Lilly asked.

"I was just going to say that it sounds too good to be true," said Sam. "When your group gets back, you should tell them to be careful around those people."

"From what I could tell, we outnumber them," Lilly said. "They wouldn't try anything unless they have more people with them."

"I don't know . . ." Sam said, shrugging. "I guess we'll find out."

* * *

Eventually, Carley and Ben showed back up at the motor inn with a basket of biscuits.

"Where are the others?" Kenny asked.

"Relax," Carley said. "They're at the dairy. They invited us to have dinner with them."

"Really?" Lilly asked. "So that means all of us are just going to go over there?"

"Ben and I ate some of these on the way back," said Carley, gesturing towards the biscuits, "so we'll stay here and watch the motel while you guys go."

"So the place isn't some trap?" Larry asked.

"It seems okay," Ben said.

"They do have an electric fence, like they said," Carley said. "It's secure."

"Alright, then," said Kenny. "Y'all come on now." He waited for Katjaa and their son and then began to walk to the gate.

"Glad to see you didn't die out there," Sam said to Ben before leaving with the rest of them.

"We saw some of those people who raided the gym while we were walking," Ben said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Ben. "Just be careful walking through the woods. I have no idea where their camp is set up."

"Thanks," Sam said. "Well, see you soon, then."

* * *

"We're nearly there," Lilly said. "I can see the fence."

"When are we gonna eat?" Kenny's son, Duck, asked. "I'm starving."

"Soon, Ducky," said Katjaa.

Once they got to the entrance of the dairy, Kenny waved and said, "Hey, y'all."

What they didn't expect to see was Mark hunched over with an arrow in his shoulder.

"Mark!" Katjaa said, surprised "Oh my god, what happened?"

"He got shot with an arrow," Lee said.

"Christ, are you gonna be okay?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mark said. "I should just . . . pull it out."

A rotund older woman with short red hair walked up to Mark. "Oh no, honey, c'mon, Brenda's got you," she said. "C'mon inside, now, we'll have you all sorted out." She walked into the house with Mark and Katjaa. "Well, you must be the veterinarian."

"What kind of shit is this?" Larry asked.

"We ran into some people on the way up here," Lee explained. "Bandits, I guess. I think it was them who attacked us."

"They gave us a lot of problems in the beginning," Andy St. John said. "Killed a bunch of our farmhands. We were able to get 'em to stop by makin' a deal."

"You knew about these people?" Kenny asked, anger rising in his voice.

"Food for protection," said Danny St. John. "Not like we had much choice, but they did stop hasslin' us."

"Goddammit," Larry said. "Carley said this place was locked down tight!"

"It was just a fluke thing . . ." Lee defended. "We can't stop assuming there aren't bad people out there."

"What the hell do you mean 'a fluke'?" Lilly asked, the anger in her voice clearly already risen.

"It could have happened anywhere," Lee said. "It could have happened to us in the motor inn."

"Listen, we may have had an agreement with those people but we will not stand for this shit," Andy said.

"Ain't no way we're gonna let those sons o' bitches get away with this," said Dan.

"You know where these assholes are?" Kenny asked.

"They're hard to pin down," Dan said, "but I think I know where at least one of their camps are." He looked at Lee. "When you're ready to go scope out that bandit camp, come find us." He and his brother walked away.

"Bandits?" Lilly asked. "Are you serious? This place isn't safe, we can't stay here."

"Not safe?" Kenny asked. "This place is a hell of a lot safer than that motor inn. And I think all of us and our guns can handle a couple of punks with bows and arrows." He turned to look at Lee. "What we need to do is find a way to get our whole group out here to stay. Take this place over if we have to."

"Cool your jets there, Rambo," Larry said. "These are nice people. Let's not do anything to get us thrown out before we eat."

"I'm gonna head out and help Dan deal with these bandits," Lee said. "You guys should try to make friends with Andy and Brenda while I'm gone."

"Well, that's easy," said Larry. "I've got charm coming out of my ass."

"Yeah, that's . . . real charming, dad," Lilly said.

"Where's Ben and Carley?" Lee asked.

"Since Carley and Ben ate some of the food on the way to get us, she volunteered to stay behind and watch the motor inn until we get back," Lilly said.

Andy walked back over to them. "Hey kids," he said, "look what Lee got workin' for you." He pointed over at a tree with a swing on it.

"A swing! I love swings," said Clementine. "Just like at my treehouse! Come on, Duck." She and Duck began to run but she stopped in front of Lee. "Thanks, Lee, you're the best!"

"Yeah!" Duck chimed in. Kenny followed them over to the swing. Lilly and Larry walked over to the gazebo. Sam went to go talk to Lee before he left with Dan.

"Hey, Lee," he said, "you guys said it was the bandits who shot your friend with an arrow?"

"I think so," Lee said.

"Where Ben and I were staying before you guys found us in the woods . . . We left because the bandits showed up," said Sam. "There's more of them than you would think. Be careful out there."

"Thanks for the heads up," Lee said. He walked over to where Dan was and talked to him for a minute before the both of them walked to the main gate.

Sam walked to the swing to talk to Kenny. "What do you think of this place?"

"They got food here," Kenny said. "As long as my family gets fed, it's fine in my book."

"Are you thinking about staying here?" Sam asked.

"It might be a good idea," said Kenny. "Those people in the woods don't pose too much of a threat."

"And why do you think that?" Sam asked. "Were they not the ones who shot your friend with and arrow?"

"I said it before, kid. We have guns," Kenny said. "Last I checked, guns are more effective than arrows."

"I know that," said Sam. "I'll let you get back to it, then." He walked up the steps that led to the St. Johns' house. Andy was standing there, blocking the door.

"Howdy," said Andy.

"Hello," Sam said. "Do you have a bathroom I could use?"

"Um . . . I'll be right back," Andy said before disappearing into the house.

Sam awkwardly stood on the porch. He looked up at the wall on the outside of the house. There were ribbons and awards hung up that read, "Dairy of the Year, 1987" and "Dairy of the Year, 1993". _Impressive._

After a minute, Andy came back outside. "Is there any way you could hold it until dinner's ready? Mama really don't like people in the house when she's cookin'."

"I wouldn't go in the kitchen," Sam said.

"Listen," Andy said, "you just gotta wait until dinner's ready. Mama don't like-"

"- people in the house when she's cooking. Got it," said Sam. "Thanks anyway."

"Mhm."

"How is that guy doing, by the way?" Sam asked. "I think his name is Mark."

"Oh, uh, he's- he's doin' fine," Andy said. "Mama and I took good care of him."

"Oh. Okay. That's good," Sam said.

"We'll call y'all in when dinner's ready," said Andy. "It'll be the best thing we've all had in months, I'll tell ya that."

"Um . . . Alright. Well, I'm just going to go find somewhere to sit," Sam said. "Thank you again."

* * *

By the time Lee and Danny got back from looking for the bandits, Brenda St. John had shown Katjaa to the barn. Duck, Clementine, and Kenny had followed her, along with Andy St. John. Lilly had stayed in the gazebo with her father and Brenda had sat down on the porch. Sam had sat down on the tree stump by the swing when Kenny and the kids had gone in the barn.

Sam wished he'd stayed at the motor inn with Ben but he was nearly starved so he tagged along upon hearing the promise of food. He looked up when he heard someone walking. Dan and Lee had come back.

"Man, that was a hell of a ride, huh?" Dan asked.

"Jesus, Danny," said Lee, tossing a rifle to him.

"What? You aren't gettin' soft on them, are ya?" Danny asked. "Not after what they did to your friend."

"You're back," Brenda said, standing up. "What happened?"

"Handled it, mama," Dan said. He walked over to where Sam sat.

"Oh, sorry," Sam said, standing up. He moved out of the way so Danny could sit. Sam looked around and then sat down on a stack of wood.

"Glad I got to use her today," Dan said. "My girl, here." He stroked his rifle.

"Did you find one of those bandits?" Sam asked.

"Sure did."

"And you . . . shot them?"

"Got her right between the eyes," Dan said. The way he said it made him sound like he was proud of killing somebody.

"Jesus, did she try to kill you?" Sam asked.

"I could tell she wanted to," said Danny. "She had this pointed at my head." He nudged a crossbow that he had leaned against the tree stump.

"Oh. Alright, then," Sam said. His stomach rumbled. "What time do you think dinner will be ready?"

"Soon," Dan said. "It'll be a good one."

"That's what your brother told me," said Sam. "Anyway, I'm just going to go ask Lee a question."

"I think he went into the barn," Dan said.

"Thanks."

* * *

Sam slipped into the barn where Dan had said Lee was. Sure enough, he was there talking to Kenny at the back of the barn. Andy and Katjaa were sitting on stools near the St. Johns' cow. Clementine and Duck were sitting cross-legged on the ground by the cow.

"How's your cow doing?" Sam asked.

"Doc here says Maybelle's 'bout ready to have a baby," Andy said.

"Oh," said Sam. "Well, congratulations."

"Yep," Andy said. "We actually-" - his voice dropped to a mumble - "Now, what the hell?" Andy stood up and looked over at Lee and Kenny, who were standing near the padlocked door at the back of the barn. "I thought I asked y'all not to be messin' with that door."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Kenny said.

"Just . . . Mama don't like people messin' with it," Andy said.

_Your mother doesn't like a lot of things,_ Sam thought. _Jesus_.

Andy sat back down. Sam walked over to talk to Lee. "Do these people seem . . . I don't know . . . normal to you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Kenny asked.

"I just . . . The one guy over there got really defensive when I asked to go in the house," Sam said. "And now there's this door, I guess." He sighed. "I don't know."

"These are people who are going to give us food," Lee said. "The least we can do is respect their privacy."

"I know that, but it just seems . . . odd," Sam said.

"They _are_ country people," Kenny said. "Country people're usually protective of their privacy. It might just be how they are and all, but I'm feelin' kind of weird about this door. Like I told you, Lee."

"Listen," said Lee, "I'm gonna go tell Andy something to get him out of the barn but I need you to distract him out there, Sam."

"Distract him?" Sam asked. "Like, stall him? For how long?"

"A few minutes at the least," Lee said.

"Um . . . alright, then," said Sam. He watched Lee walk over to Andy.

"Danny mentioned he needed something," Lee said.

"Did he say what?" asked Andy.

"Shit, I can't remember now," Lee said, shrugging. "Sorry."

Andy sighed. "Alright, alright. Be right back, doc." He got up from the stool and left the barn. Lee looked over at Sam.

"So I just talk to him?" Sam asked.

"Yes, now go," Kenny said.

Sam shook his head and exited the barn. He looked around, trying to find Andy. Larry was talking to Brenda on the steps of the house. Sam spotted Andy walking away from where Danny sat on the tree stump. Sam hurried over to him.

"Hi," Sam said. "I'd like to . . . request an audience with you." _What the hell was that? Why the hell do you say things like that?_

"'Request an audience with me'?" Andy repeated. "Alright. Shoot."

"I w- I was going to ask you something," Sam said.

"Go on, then." Sam could tell Andy was starting to get impatient.

"Do, uh . . . Do many people come by here?"

"What, like, by the dairy?" Andy asked. "Used to, before the dead started walkin'."

"How do you manage to run this whole place with just the three of you?" asked Sam.

"We get protection from them bandits," Andy said. "Look, I gotta get back to the barn."

"Wait."

"What is it?" Andy was definitely irritated.

"What time do you think dinner will be ready?" asked Sam.

Right after he asked that, a bell rang. "Now," Andy said. "That's the dinner bell. Go on in the house now."

"Oh," Sam said. He turned to look back at the barn. Katjaa, Duck, Kenny, and Clementine were coming out but Lee was still in there. Sam started walking to the house after seeing Kenny stop to talk to Andy.

* * *

Everybody but Lee and Andy was in the house, seating themselves somewhere at the dinner table. Brenda was in the kitchen, making last minute touches on whatever she had cooked for them. She brought out a tray of biscuits.

Larry gave a hearty laugh. "Brenda, you are an angel," he said.

"Biscuits, wow!" Duck said. "Oh, boy!"

"Everybody sit down and I'll go get the meal," Brenda said. "Ooh, this is a delight."

"I could eat a horse," Kenny said.

Lee stood in the doorway. "Where's Mark?"

"Now don't you worry about him," said Brenda. "I've already brought some food up. You just let him rest."

"Mind if I wash my hands first?" Lee asked.

"Bathroom's right outside in the hall. And be sure to get under your nails, you've been muckin' around in the dirt all day," Brenda said. Lee stepped out into the hallway.

"Thank you again for givin' us food," Kenny said. "You're really helpin' my family out."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," said Brenda. "I'll go fetch the meal." She disappeared into the kitchen. "Danny, be a dear and set the table, would you?" she called from in the kitchen.

Danny stood up and entered the kitchen, re-emerging with a stack of plates. He began setting them down in front of each person. Once the plates were set, Brenda came out of the kitchen with another tray of some type of meat. Sam assumed it was deer. Brenda started putting slices on everyone's plates.

"Lee, did you fall in?" she called. "Dinner's on the table and everyone's havin' at!"

Sam picked up his fork and started poking at the food Brenda had put on his plate.

"Barbecue," Kenny mused. "Wow . . ." He cut a small sliver off, stabbed it with his fork, and put it in his mouth.

Sam looked around. Everyone had started eating but him and Clementine. Sam shrugged and started to cut a small piece of meat off to eat. He heard footsteps thundering down the stairs right as he raised the fork to his mouth.

"Don't eat that!" Lee shouted, suddenly appearing in the doorway. Sam lowered his fork and looked at Clementine, who also put her fork down.


	9. The St John Dairy - II

"Lee," Kenny asked. "Jesus, man, did you find something?"

"Oh, sit your ass down, Lee," Larry said. "This lady has made you a meal."

"Yeah, Lee," said Lilly, "what's gotten into you?"

Larry's face was twisted in anger and annoyance. "He could use some goddamn manners."

"It didn't have to be this way," Danny said, his eyes not looking up from his plate.

"You're eating human meat," Lee said. Sam felt his stomach turn.

"That's crazy," Lilly said.

"What the hell?" asked Kenny. "You're scarin' the kids, Lee."

"Lee, what the hell is wrong with you?" Lilly asked.

"Don't indulge him, Lilly," Larry said, giving Lee a dirty look. "It's always somethin' with this guy."

Duck took another bite of his food but Katjaa took his plate away. "Mom, I was eating that!"

"They're picking us off to trade as meat," Lee said.

Sam thought Larry's face couldn't possibly show any more anger, but he stood corrected. "You're out of your skull," Larry snarled.

"Mark is upstairs right now with _no_ legs!" Lee shouted. He looked at Brenda St. John. "Brenda, tell me he's not being eaten right now."

After a minute, Brenda sighed and said, "It's true."

"Everything could'a turned out okay for you folks," said Dan, taking another bite of what was a cooked sliver of Mark's leg.

"He would'a died anyway," Andy said, trying to defend his family's cannibalism. "We gotta think about livin'!"

"Settle down, honey," said Brenda. "Growin' up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised, and how I raised my boys. Now you got monsters roamin' around that do nothin' but eat people! And for what? To continue to rot until they eat some more! We think we can put that meat to better use."

"Just let us go," Lee said.

Brenda waited a moment before responding. "Andy is right; we go after people who were gonna die anyway, one way or another."

Dan finally looked up from his plate. "Like y'all."

"Clementine, run!" said Lee. The girl, having been seated on a bench between Sam and Andy, couldn't get up before Andy pulled out a pistol.

"Nobody's goin' anywhere!" Andy shouted, waving his gun around. His brother stood up and backed into the corner of the dining room, a rifle aimed towards the table.

"We got _lots_ of use for y'all right here," Dan said.

"Put your guns down," Lilly demanded, "we're walking out of here!"

"You don't come near my fuckin' family!" shouted Kenny.

"Everyone!" Lee yelled. "Everything will be okay."

"Lee," Clementine called out. "Lee . . ."

Andy St. John reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her back off the bench. _Oh, God,_ Sam thought. _I knew this place was bad. I fucking knew it. Oh my god._

"I'll kill you!" Lee shouted, lurching forward only to be stopped by the tip of Danny's rifle prodding his neck.

Before anyone said anything else, there was a dragging sound soon followed by thuds. Something was coming down the stairs. It was Mark, pulling himself across the floor with his arms.

"Please," Mark said weakly as he dragged himself by the doorway of the dining room. "Someone . . ."

Everybody save for the St. Johns gasped at the sight. Lee turned back around. "Clementi-" Danny St. John knocked Lee to the ground with the butt of his rifle.

"Everybody fuckin' stand up," Andy ordered, waving the pistol around again. "You two," he said, pointing his gun at Katjaa and Duck, "in the kitchen." Brenda St. John ushered them into the kitchen.

"Don't you fuckin' touch my family!" Kenny shouted. "You fuckin' cannibal psychos, let my family go!" Danny St. John pointed his rifle at him.

"The rest of you," Andy said, "line up by the front door. We got use for y'all." Andy stepped over Lee, who was out cold. "Danny, get him."

By the time Andy had everyone in a line, Danny had dragged Mark up halfway up the stairs. "For fuck's sake, Dan," Andy spat. "I meant get _Lee_."

"Look, if you let us go, they can keep giving you gas," Sam suggested, trying to avoid whatever the St. Johns had planned for them. "Right?"

"It's past time for deal makin'," Andy said.

"No, no, no, wait," Sam said. "What else do you need? I'm- I'm sure they can supply it if you just let us go."

"Would you just shut the hell up?" Andy asked.

"I will, I swear, but please just-"

"What part o' 'shut the hell up' don't you understand?" Andy spat, pointing his gun directly at Sam. "Dan, gimme your rifle. I'm gonna knock this sonuvabitch out."

_You've really done it now, you idiot,_ was the last thing Sam had time to think before darkness shrouded his vision.

* * *

Slowly, Sam regained consciousness. He instinctively raised a hand to his forehead where Andy St. John had hit him with the gun. Sam looked around to find that he, Larry, Lilly, Lee, Clementine, and Kenny were in a meat locker. Larry was banging on the door and yelling, Lilly was trying to calm him down, Kenny was feeling up the walls which Sam presumed he was doing to try and find an exit, and Lee was talking to Clementine in a corner.

_That guy had a gun_, Sam thought. _These people are cannibals who obviously wouldn't hesitate to murder you. But no, you just had to open your mouth, you idiot._ Sam pulled himself to his feet. He had the worst headache he'd gotten in years. He walked over to Kenny.

"Did you find a way out?" he asked.

"Does it look like I found a way out?" Kenny asked, raising his voice so Sam could hear him over Larry's shouting and pounding on the door. "Those sick fuckers have my wife and child. If I found a way out, we wouldn't still be in here."

"They wouldn't kill your wife," Sam said, trying to comfort Kenny. "She's a veterinarian; they need her."

"That doesn't mean I'm just gonna sit here and wait for them to come an' kill us," said Kenny.

"You're . . . you're worse than the walkers!" Larry shouted, banging his fist against the door again.

"Dad, please," said Lilly.

"I'll . . . I'll rip your goddamn heads off," Larry yelled, "and make you swallow them!"

Sam walked over to Lee. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?"

"I'm looking," said Lee.

Sam glanced around the meat locker. "Lee, look." He pointed to one of the corners of the ceiling. "There's a vent."

"I'll break the damn door down . . ." Larry said, giving an unenthusiastic last bang on the door.

"Dad, you can't get-"

Larry moved his hands to the left side of his chest and made a pained, "Aah."

"Easy," Lilly said.

Larry grunted. "Oh, god . . ." He collapsed to the floor.

"Dad?" Lilly dropped to her knees and hunched over her father's unconscious body. "No. Dad, come on. _Dad!_" She pressed her ear to his chest. "Oh, god, he's stopped breathing. I think he had a heart attack." Lilly started frantically performing chest compressions on Larry.

"Shit," Kenny said. "Is he dead?"

"He's not dead," Lilly said. "Somebody help me!"

"Fuck . . ." said Kenny. "If he's dead . . ."

"He's _not_ dead," Lilly repeated.

"You know what has to happen, Lee," Kenny said. "Think about it. You saw that poor bastard back at the motel. How fast he turned."

"What are you saying?" asked Lilly.

"Lilly, I'm sorry. I truly, truly am," Kenny said. "But in a few minutes, we're going to be stuck in a locked room with a six-foot-four, three-hundred pound, seriously pissed off dead guy."

"Fuck you! We can bring him back," Lilly said. "Lee!"

"We'll mourn him later," said Kenny, "but right now we have to keep him from comin' back."

Clementine gasped and brought her hands up to cover her mouth. "No!"

"Goddammit, Kenny, he's not dead," said Lilly.

"Lilly can still save him," Lee said, looking at Kenny.

"I wish she could," said Kenny, "believe me, I do. But that man is dead. You both know what happens next."

"Look, I don't know what kind of personal vendetta you've got against this guy, Kenny, but are you seriously just gonna kill him?" Sam asked. "Without even trying to save him?"

"Kid, look at him," Kenny said. "He's not comin' back."

Sam shook his head and went to his knees beside Larry's body, across from Lilly. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Never as bad as this," Lilly said.

"Remember what Ben said," Kenny said to Lee. "Gotta destroy the brain."

"You're right, Kenny," said Lee. "Let's get this over with."

"You fucking monsters!" Lilly shouted. "Both of you!"

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Sam asked as he checked Larry's pulse.

Lee went over to Lilly and grabbed her arms, pulling her away from her father. Sam looked over at Kenny, who was lifting a salt lick from a stack. Lilly was struggling as much as she could to get free of Lee's grip. Clementine was facing a corner, shaking, her hands covering her face.

Sam slowly stood up and turned to look at the man who was about to kill Larry. "Kenny, think about what you're doing."

"I've already thought about it," Kenny spat, carrying the salt lick over to Larry.

Sam looked at the man restraining Lilly. "Lee, are you really going to let this-"

Kenny dropped the salt lick on Larry's head, brain matter and blood splattering the floor and the people next to him.

"_No_," Lilly cried out, letting herself fall over Larry's officially dead body once Lee let go of her. Kenny backed away from Larry, his jaw dropped and eyes wide.

Kenny shook the look from his face. "God help us," he whispered. He crouched beside Lilly. "I'm sorry. I know it-"

"_Don't you fucking touch me_," Lilly said, glaring at Kenny.

"Clementine," Lee said, turning to look at the girl who was crying in the corner. He walked over to her.

_Oh my god,_ Sam thought. He looked down at his pants, on which the lower half had been sprayed with Larry's blood. _Oh my god._ He looked over at Kenny and instantaneously the look on Sam's face went from shock to anger. Sam had known that being in the apocalypse would make people do bad things but that guy had just murdered a member of his own group on the assumption he was dead which was a major red flag.

Lee walked over to Sam. "You were saying something about that vent?"

"Yeah," he said. "Do you think it would come off?"

"Maybe," said Lee. "I'll take a look." He went over to inspect the vent. "I wonder . . . There ought to be an air duct behind this unit. Maybe big enough for one of us to fit through."

"I dunno, Lee," Kenny said. "Seems like a longshot."

"I think I could take it off," Lee insisted, "if I had something to remove the screws. The multitool!" He reached into his pocket. "Of course they took it. Does anyone have . . . a coin or something?"

Kenny, Sam, and Clementine exchanged glances. "Uh-uh . . ." Clementine said, shaking her head.

Lee crouched beside Lilly and started talking to her. Sam went over to Kenny. "Do you think he'll get the air conditioner off?"

"He has to," Kenny said. "It's our only way of gettin' outta here."

Sam looked over at Lee, who was feeling around inside Larry's pockets. "Here we go," Lee said, taking his hand out. "Two quarters and a dime." He walked back over to the air conditioner and lifted one of the quarters to the screws on the bottom of the vent.

After a couple of turns, one screw fell to the floor of the meat locker. Lee unscrewed the other one and then had Kenny help him move the unit to the floor.

"Well," Kenny said, standing up straight, "there's our way out, Lee. Looks like it'll probably lead right into that back room."

"It's too small for one of us to fit through," Lee noted. Sam's eyes travelled to Clementine.

"I can do it," the girl said.

Lee kneeled down in front of Clementine. "I know you're brave enough," he said, giving her a smile.

"I'm scared," said Clementine.

"Remember the treehouse?" Lee asked. "You held out for days."

"And I saved your life," Clementine said.

Lee chuckled as he stood up. "That's right."

Clementine sighed. "Okay."

Lee picked her up and raised her high enough to climb into the vent. "You're gonna be fine," he said.

"What do I do when I get out?" she asked.

"See if you can get to the other side of that door and open it," Lee said.

Clementine crawled through, her footsteps echoing throughout the meat locker. Everyone heard her gasp before it went silent where she had gone. They all were anxious, glancing from the door to the vent. After a moment, the door handle clicked and Clementine was standing behind it. She walked back into the meat locker.

"Are you okay?" Lee whispered. "Did anyone see you?"

"No," Clementine said. "But there's a man outside."

Lee walked over to the grieving woman. "Lilly, we gotta go."

"Leave me alone," Lilly said, not lifting her head.

"Lee!" Kenny whispered. Half of his body was outside the locker. "I can see him."

"It's not safe in here-" Lee started.

"For God's sake, Lee, I didn't even get to say goodbye!" Lilly said, her voice beginning to raise.

"Get in here," Kenny said, now completely outside of the meat locker. "I got an idea."

"Stay here," whispered Lee, looking at Clementine. "Take care of Lilly, okay?"

"I will," Clementine said, nodding.

Lee walked out of the locker to join Kenny, wherever he was. Sam looked at Lilly. "It's going to be okay," he said, trying to comfort her.

"He was still alive," Lilly said, her voice monotone.

"I know," Sam said. "Is Kenny usually that . . . impulsive?"

"From what I've seen," Lilly said.

"Oh . . ." Sam paused. "We should probably go."

"Just give me a second," Lilly said.

"Sure, yeah." Sam looked at the door. "Take as long as you need." He walked out of the meat locker and into the back room. There was blood everywhere; on the walls, on the floor . . . Sam looked at the table. There was a bear trap. A bear trap that looked identical to the one David's leg had been caught in. Sam felt like he was about to vomit. He noticed there was a miniature cattle prod lying on the edge of the bloody tub where Sam assumed they chopped people up. Sam picked it up and waited by the door for Lilly and Clementine.

Not even a minute after Lilly came out of the meat locker, there was a gunshot. Sam looked out through where Lee and Kenny had gone. Danny was desperately struggling to reload a rifle as Lee raised a sickle, swinging it into his chest. Danny cried out in pain and then slammed Lee to the ground with the rifle. He pulled the sickle out of his chest and was about to shoot Lee but one of the stall doors flew open and Kenny jumped out, rapidly slashing at Danny with a hay hook. Danny stumbled back with each swing Kenny took until he stepped on a bear trap in the corner of the barn. He yelled in pain again.

"Where's my family, asshole?" Kenny demanded, looking down at the younger St. John brother.

"You can't have 'em!" Danny said. "We need the vet."

"No!" The voice belonged to Katjaa. She was screaming about something from outside the barn.

"Kat!" Kenny yelled. "Lee, come on!"

"Just go," Lee said. He glared at Danny. "I won't be far behind." Kenny ran out of the barn. Lee picked up a pitchfork that was stuck in one of the hay bales. He raised it and pointed it at Danny's chest.

"You understand now, don't ya?" Danny asked. "You can have me. It's how the world works now. Give part of yourself . . . so others can live."

"That's why you killed that woman in the woods!" Lee noted. "She was about to spill everything."

"You weren't ready to hear yet, Lee," said Danny. "Had to stop her." He paused. "You gotta keep me alive. If you kill me, the meat gets tainted; you can't eat it."

"You're already tainted," Lee spat, throwing the pitchfork into the hay beside Danny's head. "This is _not _how the world works now. You won't make me kill you!"

Sam waited for Lilly and Clementine and then started walking by Lee. Lilly had a rifle in her hands. "Fuck you, Lee," said Lilly. "You and Kenny murder my dad, but you leave _this_ piece of shit alive? You're a fucking asshole."

"Oh god, don't hurt him!" It was Katjaa again. "Please, no!"

"You two," Lee said, looking at Lilly and Sam, "please keep her safe."

Lilly only glared at Lee, so Sam said, "Of course." Lee walked out of the barn.

Sam turned to Danny. "Was it you who set that bear trap out in the woods?"

"Yeah," said Danny, struggling to get the word out since he was in such pain. "Me an' Andy."

Sam looked down at the trap that Danny's leg was caught in. _What goes around, comes around._ He walked over to the exit of the barn. Lee was walking up the steps to the house. He turned around to look at Lilly. "Are you okay?"

"I just want to get off this fucking farm," Lilly said.

Someone screamed. It was a woman, but not Katjaa. "Was that Brenda?" Sam turned back around to look outside the barn. Lee and Katjaa were running out of the house. Kenny was standing on the front yard across from Andy St. John, who held a rifle in one hand and Duck's shirt collar in the other.

"Let him go, goddammit!" Kenny yelled.

"That ain't gonna happen," Andy said.

"Andy, don't-" Lee started.

"Shut up!" yelled Andy. Kenny tried running at him to get Duck but Andy fired the rifle into Kenny's stomach, sending him to the ground. Katjaa screamed and ran over to her husband.

Lee raised his hands into the air. "Andy."

"Who the fuck do you people think you are?" Andy asked. "Look at what you've done!"

Sam looked at Clementine. "Is Lee gonna be okay?" she asked.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry about him," Sam said. Another gunshot sounded. He looked back outside the barn. Carley was there. She had shot Andy in the ear. Lee ran at Andy and Duck ran to his dad. Andy and Lee were both holding onto the rifle, trying to take it from each other's hands. Lee pushed the rifle into Andy's face and then they both tumbled down the yard, breaking the fence at the bottom. Andy got up first and then kicked Lee in the face. He dragged himself over to the generator and turned it on.

"Get up," Andy said, grabbing Lee by the back of his shirt. "Get the fuck up." He started dragging Lee to the electric fence.

"Should we help him?" Sam asked. All he had was the small cattle prod. Lilly was the one with the rifle, but it didn't seem likely that she'd want to help Lee. Lilly said nothing, only glared somewhere outside the barn. She and Clementine walked up by Sam, looking out at Lee who was now struggling to keep his face from touching the fence as Andy pushed his head towards it.

"Lilly, help!" Lee yelled. She did nothing. Lee fought for another moment and then swung his elbow at Andy's head. He stumbled back and then Lee pushed him to the ground. Lee sat on him so he couldn't get up and then started punching Andy's face.

"Let's go," Lilly said, walking out of the barn. Sam waited for Clementine and then followed Lilly out to the path in front of the St. John's house. Sam saw Ben standing among the group and was relieved for the first time that day. They all stood in silence as they watched Lee beat the hell out of Andy.

Carley walked over to the two. "Lee, that's enough." Lee got up off of Andy. "He's had enough."

Carley rejoined the rest of the group. Lee walked halfway from Andy to his group and then Andy said, "Is that all you got, Lee?" His face was bruised everywhere and some of his teeth were missing. "You ain't shit."

"It's over," Lee said.

"Fuck you," Andy said, sitting up. "As soon as Dan and mama get out here, you're all fucked!" He pulled himself to his feet.

"They're not coming," said Lee.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked. "Lee, what the fuck do you mean?"

Lee started to walk back to the group.

"Don't you _dare_ walk away from me, Lee!" Andy shouted. When Lee kept walking, he dropped to his knees and shouted, "Get back here and finish this, Lee!"

Lee shook his head and left Andy where he was, walking back to the group. The generator shorted out and walkers started showing up. "They're getting in!" Clementine said. Walkers were pushing the fence down, getting into the dairy.

Lee walked to the gate. "Let's go."

And so the group left the dairy as the walkers started pouring in, with Danny still stuck in the bear trap and Andy on his knees watching them go.

* * *

**A/N:** I know nothing has really changed from the game yet but you should expect to begin to see this story differ from the game within the next few chapters. Thanks for reading! I know this was a grueling chapter and in all honesty you probably could have skipped it but I'm not going to just not write a part of it in case there are people who actually want to read this fic in its entirety. The next chapter should hopefully be up either later today or tomorrow! Have a nice day :)


	10. The Deal

The nine of them walked through the woods. Sam walked next to Ben. "Lee said they tried to feed you guys human meat," Ben said.

"They were," Sam said. "It was . . . disgusting. Nearly everybody ate some of it. They cut off that guy Mark's legs."

"God . . ." Ben said, looking down at the ground. "Are they all dead?"

"If I had to guess, I would say so," said Sam. "You saw all those walkers show up."

"Lee said Larry was dead, too," Ben said. "Did those people kill him?"

"No," Sam said. "Kenny and Lee killed him."

"Why?"

"They thought he was dead."

"God . . ."

"Hey dad, what's that noise?" Duck asked. There was a faint beeping sound in the distance.

"Sounds like a car . . ." Kenny said.

"Oh, god, not more strangers," Ben said. Everyone crouched as they approached the car. The lights were on and the door was open.

"Hello?" Lee asked. There was no reply, so he started making his way towards it. Kenny followed him.

"Oh, shit," Kenny said. "Baby, you gotta see this!" He was looking through the trunk window. "There's a shit load of food and supplies back here."

"This food could save all of us!" Katjaa said.

"Not _all_ of us," Lilly mumbled.

"Look, we don't know if these people are dead," said Ben.

"If they come back, then we're just monsters who came out of the woods and ruined their lives," Lilly said.

"She's right," Sam agreed. "Let's just go."

"This stuff isn't ours," Clementine said.

"Dad, whose car is it?" asked Duck.

"Don't worry about that, Duck," Kenny said. "It's ours now."

"It's abandoned, Ducky, don't worry," said Katjaa.

"What if it's not?" Clementine asked. "What if it's not abandoned? What if it _is_ someone's?"

"You're right," said Lee. "We shouldn't take this."

"What?" Kenny asked. "Did you get some meal back there that the rest of us missed out on? We have to take this stuff!"

"Clementine and I don't want any part of this," Lee said.

"Me neither," Sam said.

"We're starving!" Kenny pointed out. "Suit yourself. The rest of us are takin' this stuff." He held his hand out. Lee reached into his back pocket, took a pair of keys out that he had taken from the car's ignition, and gave them to Kenny.

Lee, Clementine, and Sam watched as the rest of them took the food and supplies out of the car. After a minute, Carley walked over to Lee. "Hey, there were some batteries in one of those boxes. I think they might work in your camcorder," she said. Carley looked at Clementine. "Here, you can have some too. For your walkie-talkie."

Once everybody was done looting the car, they carried the boxes back to the motor inn.

* * *

**\- 2 DAYS LATER -**

"Can you two go look for more planks to put on the wall?" Lee asked.

"Us?" Ben asked, referring to him and Sam.

"Yeah," said Lee. "Just look around outside the motel. Don't go too far, though. Those bandits are still out there."

"Um . . . Sure, I guess." Ben looked at Sam. "Let's go."

"Take this," Lee said, handing his pistol to Sam.

"I don't know how to shoot a gun," Sam said.

"Just aim at whatever it is you need to shoot and pull the trigger."

"Okay, then," said Sam. He and Ben walked to the exit of the motor inn. "Why is he sending us out?" Sam pushed one of the dumpsters so that the gate opened. "I'm sure he and Kenny are more equipped to do this. I don't even know how to use a gun."

"I don't know," Ben said. "Let's just get this over with." The two walked down the sidewalk. "Do you think we're even going to find more wood?"

"Probably not," said Sam. "I would've guessed that they'd searched through this area by now."

"Let's just keep going."

They walked for about five minutes and found one small plank of wood before Ben stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sam asked.

"Something made noise across the street," said Ben. "Shit." His eyes were focused on the woods across the street. There was someone running out with a rifle in their hands. "Oh, shit."

"Okay, just be cool, Ben," said Sam. Two more people ran out after the first person.

"Are those the bandits?" Ben asked.

"I . . . I don't know," Sam said. "Put your hands up." He and Ben raised their hands. The three people from the woods stopped in front of them with their rifles pointed at Ben and Sam.

"Who are you?" Ben asked.

"None o' your goddamn business," one of them said. "Give us your shit."

"We don't have anything on us," said Sam.

"Where's your camp set up?" another one of the bandits asked.

Neither Ben nor Sam said anything.

"I ain't fuckin' around!" the bandit shouted. He raised his rifle so it was pointed at Sam. Another bandit pointed their rifle at Ben. "Where's your fuckin' camp set up?"

"I- It's down that way," Ben said. "Please don't kill us!"

"Kill you?" the bandit asked. "Now, why would we do that?"

"If we kill y'all, you won't be able to give us y'all's medicine," another bandit said.

"Give you our medicine?" asked Sam.

"That's right," a bandit said. "We got one o' your friends and we'll kill 'em if you don't give us y'all's medicine."

"One of our friends?" Ben asked. "Who?" His eyes widened. "Barry?"

"Uh, yeah, we got Barry," one of the bandits said, uncertainty in her voice. "And we gon' kill him if y'all don't do what we said."

Ben hesitated before saying, "Okay, we'll give you the medicine."

"Where they gon' put it?" a bandit asked.

"Mark the goddamn camp somehow," another bandit spat. "You skimp out once - one fuckin' time - and it won't end good for y'all."

"W-we get it, yeah," said Sam.

"So we've reached an understandin' here?" asked one of the bandits.

Ben nodded.

"Good. The first drop will be tonight." The bandit raised his hand up in the air and the two bandits behind him hurried back into the woods. "Remember what I said: We don't get one fuckin' package and we kill all o' you." He ran back into the woods.

"Shit," Ben said. "Oh, shit, shit, shit."

"We need to get back to the motel," Sam said.

"Yeah," said Ben. "Yeah, let's go."

They turned around and started going back to the Travelier. "We can't tell any of them," Sam said.

"What? Why not?"

"How do you think they're going to react when we tell them we got jumped by some bandits and that we have to give them our supplies if we don't want to die?"

"Fuck . . . This is bad," Ben said. "Why can't we tell them so we can just get the hell out of there? I heard Kenny say he was working on that RV."

"Because now they know where we're staying," said Sam. "No doubt they're gonna have people watching the place."

"God . . ." The two of them walked back to the motel but Sam stopped ten feet away from the gate.

"Once everybody's asleep," Sam said, "we mark the building like that guy said and put the mark somewhere."

"There," said Ben, pointing behind Sam. "We can put the stuff there." He was pointing to a small grate on the wall.

"Okay," Sam said. "Oh, we are so fucked. Ben?"

"What?"

"I don't think they have your friend."

"I know."

They entered the gate of the motor inn, Ben holding the single small plank of wood they found.

"You find anything?" Lee asked, walking over to them. Ben held up the wood. "Well, it's better than nothing." Sam took Lee's gun out and handed it to him. Lee stared at Ben. "You look nervous. Did something happen?"

"We just, um . . . We just saw some walkers while we were out," Sam said.

"Are either of you bit?" asked Lee.

"No," Ben said.

"Alright then," Lee said. "Would one of you go put the wood on the wall?"

"I got it," said Sam. He took the plank from Ben and walked off the the fence. Lee's axe was lying on the ground beside it so he picked that up and started working on the wall. After a minute, Ben walked over to him.

"Where do you think they keep the medicine?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," Sam said. "Probably Lilly's room."

Ben sighed. "We'll figure it out, I guess."

"We have to," said Sam. "We either figure it out or we get killed. So, yes. We will figure it out."


	11. The Raid

By the time night fell, most of the group had already retreated to their rooms in the motel. Aside from Ben and Sam, Lilly was the only one out. She was sitting atop the RV with a rifle, looking out into the street.

"I'll go, uh . . . look for the meds if you could stall her so she doesn't see me," said Ben.

"How long do you need?" Sam asked.

"A couple minutes, maybe."

"Okay. Try to be as fast as you can." He walked over in front of the RV. "How are you holding up?" he asked as Ben slipped inside her room.

"I feel like shit," Lilly said. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah . . ." Sam looked around. Ben was still in Lilly's room. "Do you think we're safe here?"

"Safer than we would be out there," said Lilly. "And now Kenny's got this idea in his head that we should leave. But where the hell would we even go?"

"I don't think he's planned that far ahead."

"No shit." Lilly yawned. "Look, I never did thank you for trying to help my dad back at the dairy."

"You don't need to," Sam said.

"I do," said Lilly. "So thank you."

"I . . ." He saw Ben walk around the side of the RV. Sam cleared his throat. "My parents are gone, too. I just didn't want to see that happen to someone else." He paused. "Hey, Lilly, we . . . Ben and I can take over the watch if you want to get some rest."

"That would be nice . . ." Lilly said, though it was more of a sigh. She stood up and climbed down from the RV, walking back to her room.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we've gotten ourselves into this . . ." Sam whispered as he walked over to Ben. "Did you find anything?"

Ben unzipped his jacket and revealed a small paper bag, rattling as he took it out. "I got a flashlight, too. So we can see what we're doing."

"Fuck . . . Let's just get this over with," Sam said. He took the flashlight and the bag from Ben and hopped over the fence to put it in the grate. Okay. Don't make any noise. Ben was watching him from the inside of the motel. Once the meds were stashed, he re-entered the motor inn and handed the flashlight back to Ben.

"Didn't that guy say to mark the place?" asked Ben.

"How do we do that?"

"I don't know," Ben said. "Is there chalk anywhere?"

"Probably."

"Here, let me check over there," Ben said, walking over to where Clementine and Duck were drawing earlier in the day. He came back with a stick of pink chalk. "I'll be right back." Ben wandered off, shining the flashlight at the ground. Sam followed him. Ben drew an X on the wall with the chalk, out of sight so that nobody would see it. "I think that's- shit!" Ben had dropped the flashlight, resulting in the loud sound of glass shattering. "Oh no. Oh, god."

"Be quiet," whispered Sam. "Just . . . Get rid of the flashlight. I hope nobody heard that."

Ben walked over to the barrel where the group would put their garbage and tossed the flashlight in. "Are we done?"

"I hope." Sam looked around. "You can go back to your room. I'll take care of the watch."

"Okay," Ben said. "Be safe out here."

"Yeah."

* * *

**\- 10 DAYS LATER -**

Ben and Sam had been slipping the supplies to the bandits every couple of days and had put the most recent bag in the grate the previous night. To their knowledge, the stealing of the meds and whatnot had gone unnoticed.

"Alright, Kenny and I are gonna head out," Lee announced. "We should be back soon. Just gotta scrape together some supplies from the drugstore." He took a rifle from Lilly as Kenny put a backpack on.

"Be back as soon as you can," Lilly said. "I want to talk to you about something."

"We'll be as fast as possible," said Kenny. "Don't wanna be out there longer than we have to be." The two exited the motor inn and started down the street. Lilly re-entered her room.

Clementine resumed her drawing, which was just her shading over a leaf she placed beneath a sheet of paper. Ben had found a couple of stickers in one of the motel rooms and gave them to her a few days ago, with which Clem had stuck to her walkie-talkie.

Ben pulled Sam off to the side. "I . . . I don't think we should keep giving the bandits supplies."

"Keep your voice down," Sam warned.

"Sorry, sorry . . ." said Ben, his voice a whisper.

"Look, Ben, I don't think we should have even _started_ giving them our medicine," Sam said. "But you heard them. They told us they would kill us if we didn't."

"Maybe they were bluffing," Ben suggested.

"You can't honestly tell me you think they were lying about being able to murdering us."

"I just . . . Fuck, Sam. I don't know," said Ben. "It's not gonna end well."

"Nothing ends well," Sam said. "Not anymore."

"What happens when the group finds out?"

"They kick us out, for sure," said Sam. He paused. "I'll tell them it was just me and that you knew nothing about it. It's my fault, really. No need to risk _your_ life because _I_ was stupid."

"But it's not entirely your fault," Ben said. "It's both of ours."

Sam sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But for the time being, we have to keep the deal going. These people will die otherwise. The bandits outnumber us."

After an hour or so, Lee and Kenny arrived back at the camp. Sam had taken watch since Lilly hadn't left her room and Ben, having nothing else to do, joined Sam on the RV. Lee knocked on Lilly's door.

"Look's like we got the kids on watch again," Kenny pointed out.

_I'm nearly twenty_, Sam thought.

"What'd you get?" Lilly asked.

"Might as well leave a sign out that says, 'The men are gone, come and rape our women and children'," said Kenny.

Lilly took Lee's rifle. "Ha." She put it on the dresser in her room. Lilly walked back over to Lee and Kenny. "So, what did you get?"

"A lot of stuff," Lee said.

Kenny passed the backpack to Lilly. "We're fine, by the way."

"Nice work," Lilly said after checking the bag. "This'll keep us going. If we carry on like this, we'll get through the winter here."

"The winter?" Kenny asked. "We'll freeze our asses off out here!"

"Because piling into an RV with you two, after what you did to my dad, is so appealing."

"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Kenny. "You know I'll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe."

"We're already safe," Lilly said.

"We do whatever is best for the kids," Lee said. "Doesn't that make sense?"

"It's suicide out there," said Lilly.

"We'll die in here," Kenny argued.

"They're gonna get into another yelling match, aren't they?" Ben asked. Sam shrugged.

"You're right," Lilly said. "You could see someone sleeping and kill one of us."

Carley and Katjaa walked over. "At it again, are we?" Carley asked.

Kenny glared at her. "Can it, Carley."

"Don't boss people around," Lilly warned.

"I'm sorry," said Kenny, "but somebody needs to make executive decisions for the group, though, and I don't think you're capable anymore."

"We're strongest together," Lee put in. "It can't be you versus us, Lilly. We're sorry for what happened to your dad, but we're in this together now."

They ignored him. "What about the food situation?" Kenny asked. "What about protection? What about when this place falls? Somebody's gotta be thinkin' about this shit."

"We got plenty of food from that station wagon," Lee said.

"You didn't even want to take it," Kenny said, defensively. "Where the hell would we be now? We can't just keep our fingers crossed for more station wagons."

"Everything that happens to us is another excuse for you to pull this crap about leaving," said Lilly. "All I want is a week of peace; of not hearing it." Her voice was starting to rise.

"Do you know how we got these supplies?" Kenny asked. "We got lucky and let a girl get eaten out there."

"What . . .?" Katjaa asked.

"Some girl came screamin' out of an alley," Kenny explained. "She had dead hangin' all over her. She gave us enough time to get everything we could out of the drugstore."

"You just let her suffer?" Lilly asked. "Like what? Like _bait_?"

"She was dead anyway," said Lee. "It made the most sense in the moment."

"Lee's right. We've been puttin' our lives on the line doin' these runs into the city. You wouldn't believe the shit we see."

Katjaa looked at him. "We all appreciate it, Ken-"

"You should be thankin' Lee for not shootin' that girl," Kenny said. "Look, Macon and its people aren't savable. It's not a town. It's full of walkers and the people who _were_ left are dyin' and wanderin' out into the streets. It's hell on earth and it's comin' this way."

"_It's not going to be easier out on the road!_" Lilly shouted.

"How would you know?" Kenny asked.

"What _I_ know?! I know you're not above murder. I know somebody had been _stealing_ our supplies! That's right, _stealing_! And I know the list of people I can trust here gets smaller every day! Now everybody,_ get out_."

Sam's stomach dropped. "She knows."

"Oh, god . . ." Ben said.

"She'll get over it," Lee said.

"She's rilin' everybody up otherwise," said Kenny.

"You understand, Ken," Katjaa said.

"She's right about one thing; none of this is getting any easier," Kenny admitted. He and Katjaa walked off.

Carley and Lee started talking.

"Ben, does she know it was us?" Sam asked.

"If she knew it was us we would have been kicked out already," said Ben.

"I hope you're right . . . No doubt she's been trying to find out who, though. And now she's said something and somebody's gonna go ask her about it."

"They can't, like, dust for fingerprints or anything," Ben said. "They're not gonna know it was us unless we tell them."

"I don't know . . ."

After a few minutes, Lee approached the RV. "Hey, you guys," he said. "I need to tell you something."

"Is it about the watch?" Sam asked. "We're doing the best we can." _But I've never fired a rifle before_, he thought, looking at the gun in his lap, _so that's that_.

"You're doing fine," Lee said. He hesitated before saying, "I'm a convicted murderer."

"Whoa, seriously?" asked Ben.

Lee squinted. "Why would I joke about that?"

"I dunno . . . Wow."

"You're part of this group and you should know." Lee looked at Sam. "When we met, you said you were a student at UGA?"

"Yeah . . ." Sam said. "Why?"

"I used to teach history there," Lee said.

"Lee . . ." he mumbled, trying to recall any teachers named Lee. Sam's eyes widened. "Holy shit, you were the professor who got fired for killing that senator! They wrote about you in the school paper. Wow . . . small world."

"I guess it is . . ." Lee said. After a moment of no one saying anything, it got awkward so Lee said, "Well, I'll talk to you two later," and strolled off.

"I can't believe that was him," Sam said, still marveling. "I think I actually saw him once when I was going to one of my classes."

"Really?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. He was talking to one of the other professors," Sam said. "That seems like such a long time ago . . ."

"It's better if you don't think about before," Ben said.

"Yeah. I know."

After some more time, Lee came back over to them. "A flashlight was broken. Was it either of you?"

"No," Ben answered.

"You're not in trouble if it was," said Lee, "I know you get nervous and maybe you went out to go to the bathroom, broke it, got worried, and tossed it."

"What's with the third degree? I didn't break any flashlight," Ben said, obviously defensive.

"Yeah," Sam chimed in, "I would have said something if I did."

"Okay then." Lee still seemed skeptical. "Have you seen anything weird on watch? Is there anybody out there up to anything?"

"Nope," Sam said. "It's been quiet."

"Really?" asked Lee.

"Yeah. Everything is fine," Sam said.

"Either of you come down here to Macon much?" Lee asked.

"I didn't have much reason to," Ben said. "My parents would let me take the car into the city on the weekend, but what's in Macon? It's kind of a waste of time compared to Atlanta."

Lee and Sam crossed their arms at the same time. "I grew up in Macon," Lee said.

"So did I," said Sam.

"Oh. I didn't mean to say it's crappy or anything." Lee raised his eyebrows. "It's super nice. I mean, not now, but I bet it was. Is."

"Talk to you later." Lee walked away.

"I didn't think the apocalypse would be this boring," said Ben.

"I found a pack of cards in my room a few days ago," Sam said. "Do you know how to play any card games?"

"I kind of remember blackjack," Ben said.

"Alright, then," Sam said. He took the deck out of his jacket pocket and shuffled the cards. The two began playing blackjack to pass the time. After about five minutes, Sam saw Lee walking into Lilly's room out of the corner of his eye. A few more minutes passed and as if it was nothing, four bandits had hopped over the fence.

"You all get the fuck over here!" one shouted. They pointed their crossbows and guns at everyone until they were all lined up on their knees in front of the bandits. "You don't fucking steal from us!"

"You made the biggest mistake of your lives!" another shouted.

"Enough of this bullshit!" the first one shouted. "Drew, start puttin' your boot to these doors!"

Lee exited Lilly's room with his hands up.

"Hold it, asshole," the bandit said, pointing his pistol at Lee.

"Take it easy . . ." Lee said. "We have more supplies. We can keep the deal going."

"Too late, shithead," the bandit spat. "We ain't givin' second chances."

"It was a mix-up," Lee tried to reason. "We'll make it worth your while."

"I'm listenin'," said the bandit.

"We can split the supplies," Lee said. "Spread 'em around."

"Or we can just kill you and take it all," the bandit said.

"And what about when they run out?" asked Lee. "When you don't have us out there collecting them for you?"

The bandit lowered his pistol. "Well, I suppose we oughta hash out some terms, then."

"I don't like no hash," a different bandit said.

"Man, shut up or I'll-" A gun fired. It was Lilly and she had shot the bandit clean through his forehead.

"Christ!" a bandit shouted.

Kenny sprinted for the RV. Carley picked up the dead bandit's gun and shot two of the remaining ones through the head, but there were no bullets left to shoot the third. She dropped it and ran behind cover, where Ben and Sam had run. Clem, Duck, and Katjaa had run behind a couch on the opposite side of the motel.

Lee shot the third bandit in the bottom as he was climbing back over the fence. The bandit whistled and arrows began flying out of the woods. More bandits with rifles came running towards the motor inn. Lee ran to the RV.

"Shit," Carley said. Lee fired a rifle towards the bandits and then shouted for her, Ben, and Sam to get in the RV. They didn't hesitate whatsoever.

"Man, you saved our asses," Ben said.

"Get inside!" Lee moved to the other side to help Katjaa and the kids.

"Why did this happen?" Carley asked.

"I don't know," Sam said. It was partially true. He knew why the bandits might hypothetically attack, but he didn't know why they actually did since they had placed the bag in the grate the night before.

"Kat!" Kenny shouted before sprinting out of the RV. "Oh, Christ." Sam looked through the windshield. Katjaa was lying on the ground, her head bleeding and with a dead walker on top of her. Duck was lying under her arm. Katjaa shoved the corpse off of her. Kenny helped them up and they ran into the RV.

"Lilly, get in the RV!" shouted Lee.

"Screw her, let her stay!" Kenny yelled. As soon as he began trying to start the RV up, Carley ran back out and started shooting the walkers that were making their way into the motel. The RV finally started and Carley re-entered it.

"Lilly, last chance!" Lee shouted. "Get down here!"

Kenny started driving away as soon as Lee got back in. But Lilly was too late and Kenny had driven away without her.


	12. Back on Track

**A/N:** Hey, all of you! Surprise! I'm still alive! Sorry for the 3-month wait... I don't really have an excuse for that. But the wait is over! A new chapter is here and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Where's Lilly?" Ben asked. "Oh, shit, is she still out there?"

"We left without her?" Carley asked.

"We can't just leave her," Sam said. "You have to go back, Kenny."

"It's too late now!" Kenny shouted as he drove over a walker. "She had her chance!" He looked over at his wife. "Kat! Jesus, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she insisted.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Ben mumbled with his head in his hands. "I'm sorry."

"Everything's fine, Ben," said Carley.

Sam sat at the table across from Clementine. "Oh my god . . ."

"We're lucky as shit to have this RV," said Kenny.

"I can't believe we left Lilly . . ." Carley said. She looked up. "Is everyone okay?"

"Kat's head is split open!" Kenny shouted.

"I said I'm fine," Katjaa said.

"Lee, do you know why this happened?" Carley asked.

"Somebody was giving them our supplies," Lee said. "I found a bag of meds in a grate. I'm guessing they attacked because I took it out."

"Well, shit, who was it?" asked Carley. "Did you find that out?"

"No, I didn't get that far," Lee said. "But it was somebody in here. I know it wasn't Lilly." He paused. "Guys, we have to act now. I know it sounds nuts . . . but we have a traitor here. Do you guys get that? Someone who puts their insidious shit above everybody else!"

"Nobody was stealing _anything_!" Ben said.

Sam glued his eyes to the floor of the RV and didn't say anything.

Lee sighed. "Look, nobody's gonna make any rash decisions yet," he said, "but if you did it, now's the time to speak up."

"Lee, I just don't see anybody doing something like that," said Carley. "I feel like we can trust everybody in here."

Lee shrugged. "It could have been somebody sneaking into our camp . . ." he said. "I don't know. All I know is that someone was stealing our supplies. I guess we just have to leave it at that."

"Lee, a word please?" Katjaa asked after everything had settled down. He made his way up to the passenger seat where Katjaa and Duck were. Ben moved over to sit across from Sam since Clem had moved to sit next to Carley.

"What now?" asked Ben. Sam shrugged.

* * *

"We got somethin' up ahead," Kenny announced. Lee got up from the bench and walked towards him. "Dammit, road's blocked. Now we gotta deal with this." The RV slowed to a stop. Sam yawned at looked over at Ben, who had his upper body slumped onto the table. He shook him awake and looked through the windshield. There was a train blocking the road. Carley, Lee, Sam, Kenny, and Ben got out of the RV.

"Is there any way to get around it?" asked Ben.

"Doesn't look like it," Kenny said. "On foot, maybe. But we can't really afford to do that now."

Lee looked around. "This seems like a safe area," he noted. "All this brush will stop anything from creeping up on us."

Clementine, wearing a small purple backpack, exited the RV and looked at Katjaa, who was holding Duck close against her. There was drying blood covering half of her jacket. Duck looked pale and tired. There were some logs on the ground so most everyone took a seat on them.

"Why don't you and I go look around?" Ben asked, looking at Lee.

"Yeah, everyone else relax." Lee knelt in front of Clementine. "Clem, you stay close to Kenny and Katjaa, okay?" She nodded.

"Lee, if you come across something to drink, if there's a dining car or something, I think Duck's a bit dehydrated," Katjaa said.

Kenny looked at his wife. "It's a freighter, hon." He turned to Lee. "Be careful in there."

"What, you think there might be something dangerous inside an abandoned locomotive?" Lee asked as he walked away. "Hadn't crossed my mind."

Sam sat down on the ground and looked over at Duck. He didn't have to ask to know that the kid was bitten. He looked over at Lee, who was walking towards the cab of the train. He took a wrench out and slowly opened the door, and then he and Ben disappeared into the cab. After a minute, the train's brakes sounded. Kenny's head jerked up and he ran to the train to go join Lee.

_The train's still working_, Sam thought. _Neat_. Ben rejoined the rest of the group by the logs. "So what's the deal with the train?"

"Lee's gonna try to get it working, I think," Ben said.

"It's been nothing but nonstop shit for the past four months," Sam said. "It's about time something goes right."

* * *

"Howdy, folks," an unfamiliar, gravelly voice said. There was a ragged looking man walking towards the group with a guitar strapped to his back. "Y'all with the guy in the cab?"

"Ken?" asked Katjaa. "Yes."

"Name's Chuck," he said. They all introduced themselves to Chuck. He seemed like a nice guy. He had even given candy to Clementine and Ben. "Is this all of your people?"

"No," Carley answered. "There's one more guy. He's in the train somewhere."

"Well, I'll go meet him, then," Chuck said, before walking to the boxcar. A few moments passed and Chuck and Lee were walking back to the group together. Carley and Lee exchanged smiles.

Clementine jumped up from the log. "You met Chuck," she said, grinning.

"Yeah, I did," Lee said.

"It's so nice to meet someone normal for a change," said Katjaa.

"He gave us candy," Clem said. "Ben, too!"

Lee looked at Chuck. "Welcome."

Chuck nodded. "Thank ya."

"You met Kenny?" Lee asked.

"Sure did," Chuck said. "Man shares my love of the road."

"That's for certain," said Lee. Kenny walked back out to the group.

"We don't got much left," Kenny said, "so just gather whatever you have." Once everyone was by the boxcar door, Kenny looked at Chuck. "Want a ride? Map says the route goes straight into Savannah."

"Well, it sounds like you're taking my home," Chuck said.

"That's a yes, then?"

"Haven't found anything better for keepin' the creepy-crawlies out than that boxcar," said Chuck before he climbed on. Ben entered next, then Sam and Clementine got on, then Carley, and finally Katjaa and Duck. Lee and Kenny went up to the cab to start the train. Katjaa sat down and leaned against the wall, holding her son. Carley sat down next to Katjaa to comfort her. Ben sat down and Sam leaned against the wall. Clem looked out one of the open boxcar doors while Chuck looked out the other. They were safe, for the time being.

* * *

After a few minutes, Lee entered the boxcar to sit by Carley and Clem.

A weak cough came from Katjaa and Duck's direction. Duck had coughed up a sickly, dark red bit of blood but it was still on his face.

"Lee," Katjaa said. "Lee, I need you. Right now. I need you to go get Ken."

"Here, Lee, you go get Kenny," said Carley. She hurried over to Katjaa. "I'll help with this." Lee left the boxcar.

"Could you get that off his face please?" Katjaa asked. "My hands are full here."

Carley picked up a rag and started wiping Duck's face.

"Thank you," Katjaa said. "He's out of time. We need to stop this train."

"Lee's getting Kenny," Carley said. "I'm sure he'll get him to stop it." She set the rag down. "Katjaa, everything will be okay."

"No," Katjaa said, looking at her son. "Duck is dying."

Once the train started to come to a stop, Lee came back to the boxcar with Kenny. Everybody had exited the train and Katjaa was standing over Duck. "Ken, it's . . . I think it's time," Katjaa said.

"The boy's been bit," Kenny said, looking at Chuck, "in case you haven't figured that out."

"Take as long as you need," Lee said.

"There ain't no more time left to take," said Kenny. He looked at his wife. "What're we gonna do?"

She returned her gaze back to Duck. "We can't allow him to become one of those things."

"But what if . . . What if he doesn't?" Kenny asked.

"Kenny, I love you very much. I love our son more than life itself . . . I need you to hear me. What you are saying, that he may not turn, is foolish."

Kenny tried again. "But-"

"No," Katjaa said.

"There's . . . Come on, Kat," said Kenny.

"If you think of one, you let me know," Katjaa said.

"Isn't there some sort of pill," he said, "or something we can just give him?"

Katjaa shook her head. "Stop it."

"He can just drift off to sleep, right, hon?" Kenny lifted his hands up to his face. "I mean, Jesus, this is our son."

"I know. But we know it's here," she said, pointing a finger at her temple, "or nothing."

"Well, just . . . Fuck. Who, then?" Kenny asked. "You want me to?"

"I'll do it," Lee suggested.

"No," said Katjaa. "It should be a parent."

Lee looked at Duck. "No parent should have to do something like this."

"Lee's right, Kat," said Kenny. "We can say our goodbyes, and . . . just let that be it."

"Lee, you'd be doing this family a great service," Katjaa said. She looked at her husband. "Why don't we take him into the forest, so Clementine doesn't have to see?"

"Yeah . . ." Kenny said.

"Give us a moment to say goodbye?" Katjaa asked.

Lee nodded. "Of course."

Katjaa picked Duck up and carried him into the forest, Kenny walking behind them.

"What are you doing?" Clementine asked Lee.

"I'm going to make sure he's okay," Lee said.

"But how?" asked Clem. "He's bitten."

"By making sure he doesn't come back."

"Oh . . ."

A few moments passed and Kenny and Katjaa came back out of the forest. "Please, go . . ." Katjaa said. Lee walked into the forest with his gun in his hand.

Chuck looked at Clementine. "That's gon' happen to you if you don't learn how to protect yourself."

Clem frowned and looked at her feet. Kenny and Katjaa hadn't heard, but Sam did. He glared at him. Technically, though, he had glared at the back of Chuck's head since the man was facing out into the forest and Sam was behind him. _That's not something you tell an eight year old._

Once the group heard a single gunshot, they knew Lee had done what he said he would and that the group was now one member smaller. Katjaa and Kenny hugged each other as they cried. Lee returned to the train and gave the two a sorrowful look.

"Kenny, are you going to be okay to drive the train?" Carley asked.

He looked up. "Yeah . . . C'mon. Everybody back on the train," Kenny said, wiping his eyes. He sulked to the cab as everyone did what he said. Lee, Clementine, Carley, and Katjaa got on the boxcar while Chuck walked up to the cab with Kenny. Ben went to stand by the railing outside the boxcar to get some air.

"How are you doing?" Lee asked Katjaa.

"Please, Lee," she said, her voice wobbling, "don't talk to me. I would like to be alone."

"Of course." He sat back down by Clem and Carley. The train started back up after a minute.

Sam looked at Katjaa and then decided he had to discuss something with Ben. He stood up and went to go stand out by him. "We have to tell them now," he said.

"What?" Ben asked.

"We have to tell them that we were the ones giving them supplies," Sam said.

"I know . . ."

"Look, I'll tell them it was me only, okay?" said Sam.

"It was me, too."

They quieted down when the boxcar door opened. Lee didn't even look at them, though. He brushed right by them, anger on his face. He was going to the cab. Once he was gone, they resumed talking.

"They might decide to kick us out so if that's the case," said Sam, "there wouldn't be any point in the both of us leaving. You'd be safer with them anyway. Besides, I have family who lived in a part of Savannah. I could always just go look for them."

"You do?"

"Yeah. My cousins," said Sam.

Ben looked down. "I'd still feel guilty. I was still a part of it."

Sam nodded. "Okay. We can tell Lee. Carley, too."

"Do we tell Kenny and Katjaa?"

Before Sam could reply, the door that lead from the boxcar to the railing outside of the cab opened. It was Carley. "Hey, you guys," she said. Her voice was flat.

"Hey," Sam said. "How are you doing?"

"I feel like all of us could be doing better," Carley said.

"Yeah," Sam said. "This group's just getting smaller. First Lilly, now Duck . . ."

"Bad things happen," Carley said, "and sometimes there's just nothing you can do to stop them."

"But there was something that could have been done to stop Duck from getting bit," Sam said.

"What?" Carley asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It's my fault," said Sam.

Ben shot him a look before saying, "Mine too."

"I'm sure it's not," said a confused Carley. "He was bitten during the raid."

"I know," Sam said. "But it was my fault that the bandits were even there in the first place."

"What, you mean you two were the ones giving the bandits our supplies?!" Carley asked, shocked.

Ben nodded, looking down.

"They jumped the two of us while we were outside camp one day and told us they would come and kill someone if we didn't," Sam tried to explain. "They didn't give us much choice."

Anger was painted on Carley's face, but more than that, there was sadness. Sadness in knowing that the group would be somewhat more whole if the two fuck-ups in front of her hadn't fucked up. "Does anyone else know?" she asked.

"No," Ben said. "We were going to tell everybody."

Carley opened her mouth to say something but she turned her head to look at the cab door. Lee was walking back out, significantly less angry than he had been when he was walking in.

"Hey, Carley," he greeted. Lee looked over at Ben and Sam. "What happened?"

"It was us," Ben said.

"Us?" Lee repeated, waiting for Ben to explain.

"They were the ones giving those forest people our shit," Carley said.

Lee's face changed just as Carley's had. "Jesus, you two . . . Can we even trust you?"

"Yes," Sam said immediately. He was surprised; he expected Lee's reaction to be much worse than that.

"Why'd you have to go and tell us that?" Lee asked, referring to him and Carley.

"I just-" Ben started.

"No," Lee interrupted. "Just . . . don't tell anybody. You can't take any of it back, so just don't, okay?"

"Okay," Ben said. Sam nodded.

"I mean it," Lee said.

"If Kenny or Katjaa finds out . . . I can't even imagine," Carley said, shaking her head. "Keep that to yourselves. Nobody else is going to hear it."

Sam nodded again. "Okay."

Without another word, Carley and Lee re-entered the boxcar.

"So, we're not telling the others, then?" Sam asked.

"I don't know . . . I guess not," Ben said. "I still feel like we need to."

"They said not to," reminded Sam. "If they ever say it's okay to tell them, we will. But for now we have to keep our mouths shut."

* * *

"Oh, shit!" Kenny shouted. "Hold on, everybody!" His voice could be heard throughout the entire train before it screeched to a stop. Everybody got out of the train to look for the reason why Kenny stopped the train so abruptly. It didn't take long; the railroad went through an overpass. Atop the overpass was a tanker, hanging down over the side and blocking the path where the train would need to go.

Kenny looked at the tanker and let out a string of curses.

"Maybe we could walk?" Ben suggested.

"That's fuckin' stupid, Ben," said Kenny.

Ben shrugged. "I'm just sayin' . . ."

Chuck climbed down from the train. "Hmm . . . I dunno. I ain't got much experience with y'all's fortitude," he said, "but we could probably deal with that. We got a goddamn train."

Kenny looked at him. "That thing's not full of milk, Charles. It's gas or diesel; somethin' that's gonna explode."

"You gotta get a hold of yourself," Chuck said. "This a crew here."

"This ain't shit," Kenny said.

"This-" Chuck began.

"Yo, you guys keep screaming like that and you're gonna get your face chewed off!" a new voice shouted. The group's attention turned to the overpass, where two people were standing.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright. Hopefully this will be updated more often now! Again, sorry for the almost three-month-long wait. I don't really have an excuse for that. I'm gonna try and get as many chapters as I can of this published this month since I don't think I'll have time to write for this in November. But thank you to everyone who's been reading this and I hope you all have a wonderful day!


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